This is about Christmas Stocking's legend. There was a kindly nobleman whose wife
had died of an illness leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair.
After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions the family had to move
in a peasant's cottage, where the daughters did their own cooking, sewing
and cleaning. When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became
even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries, money and
property given to the new husband's family. One night after the daughters had
washed out their clothing they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry.
That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by
then nobleman's house. Looking in the window Saint Nicholas saw that the family
had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings. Inspiration struck
Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw
them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings. The next
morning when the daughters awoke they found their stockings contained enough
gold for them to get married. The nobleman was able to see his three daughters
marry and he lived a long and happy life. There is a legend that comes down to
us from the early days of Christianity in England. One of those helping to
spread Christianity among the Druids was a monk named Wilford. One day, surrounded
by a group of his converts, he struck down a huge oak tree, which, in the
Druidreligion, was an object of worship. As it fell to earth, the oak tree
split into four pieces and four pieces and from its center sprung up a fir tree.
Wilfordturned to the Druids and said, "This little tree shall be your Holy
Treetonight. It is wood of peace, for your houses are built of fir. It's the
sign of an endless life, for its leaves are evergreen. See how it points toward
the heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child. Gather about it,
not in the wilderness, but in your homes. There it will be surrounded with
lovinggifts and rites of kindness." The modern Christmas tree as we know it
dates back to 16th century Germany. The decorations used at that time consisted
of various colors of paper roses, apples, wafers, gilt and sugar. In
Protestant countries, Luther is credited as having been the first to place
lighted candles on a tree in order to simulate the sight he had seen while
traveling home one winter's night as the moonlight shimmered on the snow-covered
trees. And the tree was first introduced into England in 1841 by German PrinceAlbert,
husband of Queen Victoria. The record of the first tree in the U.S.A., still
undisputed, was that of German immigrants in Pennsylvania who first put up one
on December 20, 1821.