Why are oranges put in Christmas stockings?

Question

This seems like an old tradition that I've noticed in books.

Answer 1

Oranges were something of a rarity in the 1800's.
To acquire one was something special, like candy from creation.
So to be given one was, indeed an exercise in generosity.

Answer 2

I didn't find any info, but I believe it is due to oranges being something that was considered a great treat. I'm sure it hasn't been 50 years that oranges were not all that easy to come by in different parts of the US. Heck, I bet they were hard to find in Northern Europe as well. So, getting an orange in the stocking would be something sweet to get. Plus it could keep you from getting scurvy.

Answer 3

Because they used to be exotic fruit. Certainly, when I was a kid they were still something special that we couldn't afford very often.

I remember when visiting Eastern Germany quite soon after the "Wall" came down, a family whose old farm I was photographing came out and invited us in. The lady of the house was in tears when she described how amazed she was to see oranges available so plentifully and so cheaply in the western supermarkets when they first ventured over the border. She said that at Christmas time she had to queue for hours at the Konsum (state run shops) to get one orange each for the kids.

If you're lucky enough to get one in your stocking make sure you treasure it! :-)

Answer 4

According to a show I watched on the Discovery Channel (I think it was), St. Nicholas threw three bags of gold into a man's house to help out with the man's three daughter's dowries.
Apparently some nuns found out about his generosity and started a tradition of putting nuts and fruits (oranges?) in their stalkings and placing them on the doors of the needy.

Answer 5

We always got oranges and candy canes in our stockings at Christmas. We would cut a plug out and put the candy cane in the orange and let the candy cane mix with the juice-it was a sweet-cheap- treat!

Answer 6

The orange represents the gold that St. Nicholas left in the stockings...yes the gold would be better..

Answer 7

And tangerines..... they were not so plentiful at one time as they are now with airplanes zipping up to cold climates from the southern areas of the world... and they were considered a luxury ... something really nice, as are the spicy cookies and little candies that end up in stockings...

Answer 8

It was (and is) traditional to put fruit, nuts and the like in stockings.
In the old days, sometimes food was all there was to put in there. I think it's mostly gifts one wouldn't normally wrap.


M

Answer 9

Years ago, oranges were quite rare, unless you lived in Florida or Calif, where they're grown.

One time, my doctor (a Jew who'd immigrated from Russia) told me that when he was a kid in Russia, if you saw someone carrying an orange, you stopped and asked him who was sick? Wouldn't have gotten a rare orange unless someone was sick enough to need the vitamin C, and you were going to give it to them.

Answer 10

It has to do with St. Nicholas. He used to drop fruit and money down chimmys or through windows because fruit was expensive it was a treat for many families to have fruit.