When my grandmother was a little girl in Brooklyn in the early 1890s, the best thing in her Christmas stocking (which really was a long red stocking, one of a pair that she wore sometimes - I have them now) - was the orange in the toe, way at the bottom.The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, when writing of children's holiday treats, always speaks of candies "and oranges" - they were a special, expensive fruit, not easily had the rest of the year. In the advertisement below, from December 1901, grocer Joseph Bauland is selling "fancy Jamaica oranges" for 22 cents a dozen - a fair amount of money back then.
Part of the expense was due to the fact that oranges were imported from far-off places like Florida and California (and Jamaica), which was a longer and more arduous process back then. As you can see, the oranges are the most expensive item in the fruit and vegetable section (you may want to click on the link to the big version, here).What else would a Victorian child find in his or her stocking on Christmas morning? Figs, nuts, candies (bought or homemade) and apples were all popular stocking stuffers. A child might also find small toys or a pair of gloves or mittens in their stocking. In 1877 the heroine of a story in a children's magazine called Golden Hours received a new striped stocking stuffed with:
...a bunch of holly in the top of it; then a paper of chocolates and mixed candies; then some oranges; a pair of gloves; a net for her hair; the mate of the striped stocking, a nest of filberts, and away in the toe a note [from Santa] , folded precisely three-cornered, and sealed with a bunch of miniature holly berries.
If they were lucky, my grandmother and her siblings might have had a few toys in their stockings, too, carved by their grandfather, who was a carpenter.
My grandmother's family did not have a lot of money, and she said that the orange was a once-a-year treat that she and her sister and brothers all looked forward to very much.
Image of the little girl with her cat in the stocking is from the NYPL Digital Gallery, as is the picture of the oranges. The Bauland ad is from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 12, 1901, p. 10, bigger version here.
******
10 comments:
I've always felt rather guilty about the orange-in-a-stocking thing.
Every year in my stocking, my parents would put an orange in the toe and then fill the rest up with toys and stuff.
Back then, the toys were exciting but I never understood the orange. I had oranges whenever I wanted them? Why was having one in my stocking at Christmas special?
It was only when I grew up that I realised just how privileged I'd been and how lucky I was. And it was learning about why there was an orange in my stocking that taught this to me.
And today, I've long since forgotten all the gifts my parents stuffed in my stocking at Christmas. Except for the oranges.
Thanks for sharing this. My Grandmother told me similar stories about nuts and oranges, and she always put an orange in my mom and her brother's stocking. My mom always put oranges in the stockings of my 3 brothers and me. But I am afraid it is I who ceased the tradition years ago when my kids were small and would ignore the orange for the candy inside the stocking.
Richard - I never appreciated the care my mom put into my stocking until I had the same challenge (times two). No oranges ever, but lots of good things, including my first diary (still at it, on paper, 34 years on!)
Wendy - I always went for the candy first, too, and the fabulous St. Nicholas gingerbread from the local Hungarian bakery. I've never had such amazing gingerbread since then (and it had a beautiful sticker of St. Nicholas on it, too).
Fifty years after your grandmother I was being thrilled to find the orange in the stocking!
[I'd like some of that 12.5 cent prime rib roast, please.]
vanilla - I love all those prices! And I always appreciate the clementines in the stores now, though we don't put them in the stockings :)
How things have changed since then! I can't say our modern children, with all their expensive baubles and gadgets, are any more educated, wiser, or mannerly than back then.
Nice story!
I must admit that we always had an orange in our stocking. However, for us, the orange was always at the top, not the bottom. It would be a large sweet naval orange.
We were poor growing up and I understood how special a fresh orange was, and even more so, how it important it was to my mother.
I try to continue the tradition, but my kids just don't appreciate it.
Another important Christmas traditional for us were chocolate coins in gold foil. It wasn't until years later, that I learned about Hanukkah Gelt and perhaps the mixing of holiday traditions.
Can you imagine how a child today would respond to an orange in their stocking? They'd want to know where the DVDs, Wii game cartridges, and iPhones were. :D
Mrs. Mecomber - Very true.
Aldon - We always have gold foil coins too! That was something my mother did and I have continued it.
Margaret - It's much harder now, yes. Luckily we're all kind of anachronistic around here, so it works out all right :)
So interesting! Just try to get a child to be satisfied with an orange in this day! www.satisfiedsole.com
Post a Comment