In many countries, families hang socks on or near chimneys for Santa Claus to fill them with gifts. Well, this tradition would have its origin in the generosity of the real Santa Claus.
St. Nicholas of Myra or Bari was a bishop from Turkey. He was born in Patara in the 3rd century A.D. in a wealthy family, and Patara was also the place where the so-called prodigy of the three sisters occurred.
One day St. Nicholas found out about that a family man had lost his entire fortune. Unable to pay the marriage dowry of the eldest of her three daughters, she was forced into prostitution or sold into slavery. St. Nicholas, famous for his altruism, decided to help the young woman confidentially so as not to humiliate her, so that, depending on the version we consult, one night he threw through a window or through the chimney a bag of gold coins, with so much aim that he managed to basket it in a sock hung up in the chimney. This prodigy was repeated twice more when the other two sisters had to pair up. And this is the story on which the tradition of hanging socks on chimneys to encourage the arrival of Christmas gifts is based.
