<P> A tradition that began in a European country originally, children simply used one of their everyday socks, but eventually special Christmas stockings were created for this purpose . The Christmas stocking custom is derived from the Germanic / Scandinavian figure Odin . According to Phyllis Siefker, children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat . Odin would reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy . This practice, she claims, survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas as a result of the process of Christianization . Today, stores carry a large variety of styles and sizes of Christmas stockings, and Christmas stockings are also a popular homemade craft . This claim is disputed though as there are no records of stocking filling practices related to Odin until there is a merging of St. Nicholas with Odin . St. Nicholas had an earlier merging with the Grandmother cult in Bari, Italy where the grandmother would put gifts in stockings . This merged St. Nicholas would later travel north and merge with the Odin cults . </P> <P> Many families create their own Christmas stockings with each family member's name applied to the stocking so that Santa will know which stocking belongs to which family member . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies . Please help to create a more balanced presentation . Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message . (October 2014) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies . Please help to create a more balanced presentation . Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message . (October 2014) </Td> </Tr>

Where does the tradition of stockings come from