The Christmas stocking is supposed to have originated in the life of Saint Nicholas.
While there are no documented records of the origins of the Christmas stocking. Legendary stories seek to explain the origins of this Christmas ritual.

Christmas ritual

One such legend has various variants, but here’s a decent one:
St. Nicholas visited an impoverished family and learned that the father intended to sell his three daughters. Into prostitution to preserve them all from famine. St. Nicholas wanted to assist but knew the old man would refuse charity, so he planned to aid secretly.

According to other versions of the story, Saint Nicholas immediately dropped the three gold bags. Into the stockings hung over the fireplace to dry. When he left home after dark, he tossed three gold bags out an open window. One of which fell into a stocking. When the girls and their father awoke the next day, they discovered the gold bags and were ecstatic.
The girls were spared from a dreadful destiny.

This gave rise to the tradition of youngsters hanging stockings or putting out shoes in anticipation of Saint Nicholas’ presents.
The narrative is sometimes recounted using gold balls rather than gold bags. As a result, three gold balls, often shown as oranges, are used as St. Nicholas insignia. As a result, St. Nicholas is a giver of gifts.
This is also the origin of the three gold balls representing pawnbrokers.

Initially, children used one of their ordinary socks for this ritual, which started in a European nation. And that’s the reason, special Christmas stockings were produced.
These stockings are generally used on Saint Nicholas Day. But they were also utilized on Christmas Eve in the early 1800s.

Santa Odin?

There is a theory, that the Christmas stocking ritual is derived from the Germanic/Scandinavian figure Odin.
According to Phyllis Siefker, children would leave their boots by the chimney. Laden with carrots, straw, or sugar, for Odin’s winged horse, Sleipnir, to feed.
Odin would reward the youngsters for their goodness by substituting toys or candies for Sleipnir’s supper.
She says that following the advent of Christianity, this tradition remained in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. And became identified with Saint Nicholas due to the Christianization process.
This allegation is dubious because there are no records of Odin-related stocking filling activities before the merger of St. Nicholas and Odin.
Before combining with the Grandmother religion in Bari, Italy, where the grandmother would put presents in stockings, St. Nicholas had a.
This merged St. Nicholas would subsequently move north and join the Odin cults.

Today, businesses provide a variety of kinds and sizes of Christmas stockings and popular homemade crafts.
Many households make their own Christmas stockings. Labeling them with each family member’s name so Santa knows which stocking goes to which family member.