I don’t know about you, but Christmas morning has an ethereal quality to it, as though the world around you becomes softer. The lights seem to still glimmer from the midnight festivities, everyone seems to be half-asleep but bursting with excitement, and you are digging down deep into your stocking to find out what Santa may have lovingly hidden inside for you.
In my childhood home, the one thing you could always count on, every single time — not the chocolate gold coins, and certainly not the random toy — was always a bright, perfectly round, juicy orange. Typically a clementine, sometimes a navel orange, but nonetheless there was that fresh burst of citrus. I never even thought to ask why this had always been a thing. It was just Christmas. And, it turns, there is a lovely old story behind it that adds a whole new level of meaning to the Christmas tradition.
Family Traditions from Generation to Generation
I remember once asking my mom — in the most casual of ways — about why we always received oranges, and she shrugged her shoulders and explained how her parents did it for her, and their parents did it for them — as if it was part of some family tradition or an unwritten law of Christmas. I just accepted this explanation. Fast forward several years later, and I became curious — really curious — about how oranges came to hold a place in stockings, so I began to dig. I felt like I was opening a time capsule because if you go back far enough you end up finding out all about St. Nicholas!
The Story of St. Nicholas and the Gold
So, that’s the real St. Nicholas! Nicholas — not the Coca-Cola Santa version, but the guy born in what is now Turkey, who is basically the original champion of generosity. Nicholas inherited a fair amount of money but he chose to give most of it away helping the poor, and the stories of him sneaking around at night giving gifts are what inspired so many of the customs we now fold into Christmas today.
There’s one story in particular that I think stands out? St. Nicholas hears about this father who is completely broke and cannot afford to pay dowries for his three daughters, and back then not being able to pay a dowry for them basically meant they could not marry or have any security in life. Instead of allowing that to happen, St. Nicholas shows up — legend has it in the middle of the night — and throws three bags of gold down the man’s chimney.
The funny thing? The bags of gold landed right in the stockings that the girls had put by the fire to dry. So maybe a miraculous moment or just crazy coincidence, but that’s where the whole idea of stockings full of goodies comes from. And these days our oranges in our stockings are essentially like stand-ins for St. Nicholas gifts of gold — little bursts of brightness that point to a true story of kindness from long ago.
The Great Depression and Oranges as Treasures.
But again, customs do not freeze forever, and they adapt as society must adapt to changing times. Let’s jump to the 1930s, right in the Great Depression. Throughout America and the rest of the world families were going through struggles, the presents that everyone had relatively low expectations for were little more than dreams, and it was only the richest of families that could afford anything like a simple sweet orange, if they could find them at all.
Parents who couldn’t afford to give toys or fancy things, sometimes kids would get an orange, or perhaps a couple of walnuts, in their stockings. For many kids, this was one of the only treats they got all year, the symbolism of a little hope and sweetness at a time when there was little more than rough times.
Then I think about my grandparents, who were kids during the Depression, perhaps their Christmas orange was the reason my mom perpetuated the family tradition for us. How amazing is it that a piece of fruit can carry this much memory across generations.
A Winter So Rare Oranges
And if you really think about it, oranges didn’t always come easy. Certainly in northern areas, or rural towns where citrus didn’t grow, to get one fresh in December took connections, planning, and often money. So when you woke up and only had one bright orange in your stocking it was a tiny miracle. A real celebration. Like how the holidays can provide a little sunshine in the darkest, coldest days of winter.
To imagine kids a hundred years ago holding an orange for the first time like it was some kind of extravagant treasure–that’s pretty incredible. And now that the tradition feels so much bigger than it did when I was a kid popping clementines into my mouth without doubting the significance behind them.
Transmitting a Tradition to the Next Generations
So now, when I go out to get oranges for my kids’ stockings, I’m now thoughtful about it, instead of just getting the cheapest oranges I can find. I’m thinking about picking the oranges that felt heavier, with peels that looked exciting to peel when I found them – imagining the look on my own kids faces when they pull them out. Because even if they don’t know the story yet, maybe they will feel the warmth of it. And one day when they are older, I can tell them about how St. Nicholas used to drop gold in stockings, and how oranges became symbols of hope during the Depression, and why their grandparents maintained the tradition. Because it’s not just a fruit, it’s a little edible nugget that reminds us that holidays have meaning of generosity and intestinal fortitude, and happy little spots of light in dark moments.
More Holidays to Learn About
In all fairness, the orange is just one infinitesimal portion of the larger Christmas narrative. If you’re anything like me that can’t help going down a rabbit hole of reading about old traditions, you’ve got a lot out there! There are so many comedic, heartwarming customs, like hiding pickles in your Christmas trees or leaving out shoes on St. Nicholas Day. It’s a reminder to appreciate how many ways people have become creative to celebrate! And yeah, once you start, you may find it hard to stop – but that’s half of the fun of the holidays!
That simple orange carries so much history, from ancient generosity to modern family love. For another story about a simple object that holds profound meaning, discover the story behind this White Envelope Christmas tradition.
