Socks and stockings: Why are they always given at Christmas?
15/12/2020
Christmas and socks are a classic festive pairing, up there with Boxing Day and turkey sandwiches. There’s a good chance you’ve got a pair waiting for you under the tree, you’ve wrapped them for someone else or there’s at least a stocking or two hanging up in your home.
But socks have a bad rep as boring and predictable gifts, making them a recurring festive punchline. While they might not be the most original present, we’re firm believers in their top-tier gift status. Especially when they’re made by social enterprise brands who’ve found a way to make them go much further than just keeping your feet cosy.
We’ll get to why the likes of Leiho and Stand4Socks create socks worth shouting about later. But first up, how did socks get tangled up with Christmas traditions anyway?
Why do we hang stockings up at Christmas?
The most famous origin story for the tradition of hanging stockings goes all the way back to the 4th century BC, when Saint Nicholas of Myra (the real-life inspiration for the modern Father Christmas) was around.
According to the legend, old Saint Nick threw bags of gold down the chimney of a poor widowed man and his three daughters. The gold was for marriage dowries that would help lift them out of poverty. The bags landed inside stockings hanging by the fireplace to dry and that’s where the custom of leaving your sock out for gifts from Saint Nicholas comes from. Some people believe oranges in stockings, a tradition many of us still do today, symbolise the bags of gold in the story.
Did it really happen? Well, the exact details may have become a little fuzzy over the centuries. However, it’s said that Saint Nicholas did discreetly perform charitable acts all through his life and was nicknamed ‘the gift-giver of Myra’, so the story represents his general commitment to giving back either way.
Saint Nicholas also pops up in another theory about why we hang stockings. Inspired by his anonymous charitable actions, a group of French nuns in the 12th century apparently left stockings full of fruit and nuts at the houses of poor people during the night. When asked about who left the stockings, they would say “it must have been Saint Nicholas.” A pretty familiar saying for parents on Christmas morning today.
Socks as Christmas gifts
Stockings started out as plain old socks from your own collection. But the Victorians began giving elaborate stockings as gifts and like so many festive traditions from that era, it’s stuck around. Kids in the 19th century received stockings as their main present. Inside were smaller gifts like fruit, nuts, sweets, new pennies and sometimes a lump of coal (another tradition with a hotly debated origin story).
So, stockings as Christmas gifts go way back. But what’s made regular old socks a go-to gift for so long too?
The answer could be as simple as this: we all need socks. They’re a staple. No matter what fads come and go each year, socks are here to stay and you can never have too many, as old ones always wear out eventually. That means zero ‘do they already have this?’ anxiety about giving them as a gift.
There are stats to back up our love of a practical present too: a YouGov poll found they came out as the top type of gift among Brits. So as much as your giftee may joke about ‘another pair of socks’, chances are they’re secretly pretty pleased.
Oh, and that cosy new-sock feeling surely has something to with it too. That alone is reason enough to love unwrapping a pair, in our opinion.
Giving back with social enterprise socks
The myths around Saint Nicholas and Christmas stockings have one thing in common: they’re about helping those less fortunate. That’s the deal at Stand4Socks and Leiho too. They do socks that give back, donating a pair to the homeless community for every pair they sell.
It’s a simple idea but one that creates far-reaching ripples of change. Homelessness makes a decent pair of socks more needed than ever and harder to come by. People in the community often don’t have a clean pair to put on each day or easy access to laundry services. As we all know, socks soon get grubby and keeping your feet in dirty socks isn’t pleasant, to say the least.
On top of that, people experiencing homelessness also tend to walk long distances each day to access food and shelter. These factors add up to socks getting worn out quickly and even causing foot problems.
Despite being the most requested item at homeless shelters, socks are rarely donated. We tend to wear any we own and so don’t have them to pass on, with second-hand socks not accepted as donations, for obvious reasons.
Knowledge of this situation inspired both Leiho and Stand4Socks to take action. They get much-needed socks to people experiencing homelessness by partnering with organisations that work with the community. The socks they donate are durable and specially designed to withstand a lot of wear, helping feet stay healthy.
And the socks you can buy from these brands are a step up from standard pairs too. Leiho creates simple, joyful designs featuring the brand’s signature smiley face logo and made using bamboo fibre. As well as being super soft – essential for a good sock – it’s an eco-friendly, temperature adapting, hypoallergenic and odour resistant material. Impressive stuff.
In Stand4Socks’ collection, you’re treated to bright colours, bold patterns and even a pair with a strong ‘David Attenbrrr’ pun on. These eye-catching designs make a great talking point, with a cause logo on the ankle a reminder of their social purpose. Sustainability is a priority here too – they use compostable packaging and materials that are free from harmful chemicals and environmental practices.
Socks that do good and look good. Even more of a reason to give a pair at Christmas and enough to win over even the biggest critics of socks as a gift.
We’ll leave you with a one-liner from Leiho: “one pair of socks might not change the world, but it’s a start.” That’s the kind of thinking we love.
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