The traditional and high quality stocking holders are often displayed on the mantel as an essential part of the Christmas tradition. Passed down through generations, the centuries old custom of the Christmas stocking is as old as the story of St. Nicholas. It is said that when St. Nicholas heard of a poor father who did not have dowry money for his three beautiful daughters, Nicholas crept into the poor man’s
home and found the girls’ stockings hung by the chimney on mantel hooks to dry. Nicholas then filled the girls’ stockings with bags of gold and enabled the girls to marry. Through the following centuries, mantel hooks in various countries have held stockings to be filled with candy or gifts in celebration of the St. Nicholas legend and the time-honored practice of benevolence. Eventually, special Christmas stockings were made for the occasion, and decorative decorative stocking holders were invented. Beautifully crafted decorative stocking holders are unique embellishments that bring the past and present together with creative touches and time-honored charm.
In determining the place of stocking holders in your home, consider if you wish to use them for the traditional purpose of hanging stockings and in the traditional display on a mantel. Striking through practical, stocking holders can be hung from the customary mantel, from a single suspended shelf, from a service table in the dining room, or from the height of a piano, headboard, or bookshelf.
Family traditions can also circulate around stocking holders. Every family member can have his or her own stocking holder – a star for mom, a tree for dad, a reindeer for one child and an angel for the next. Each year, the children can unpack and set up their own holders. Decorative stocking holders are easy for children to arrange themselves since the stocking holders do not need to be nailed into the wall, and they are not easily broken.
Beyond the customary Christmas stocking, other items can be hung from stocking holders. Wrought iron decorative stocking holders can support 15 pounds and can be employed in utilitarian ways. A straightforward hook could hold keys, a calendar, or a hand towel when hung off a cupboard in the kitchen; a bear shaped stocking holder can support a towel or squeegee in a country bathroom, and a horse stocking holder could sustain belts or scarves off a shelf in a young girl’s bedroom. When the need arises, good quality stocking holders can serve a variety of uses year round.
As you establish your own purposes and style – different hangers and stockings match different styles and goals. A few top quality stocking holders or mantel hooks may be the very thing that you are looking for to complete your home’s theme.