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 into 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 the 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.

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Because of this story, Children all over the world continue the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings. In some countries children have similar customs, in France the children place their shoes by the fireplace, a tradition dating back to when children wore wooden peasant shoes.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

In Holland the children fill their shoes with hay and a carrot for the horse of Sintirklass. I

n Hungary children shine their shoes before putting them near the door or a window sill.

******** Read The Story behind Santa Claus *******

One Christmas Eve the trees in a wood were very unhappy.
They wished very much to keep Christmas, but they did not know how to do so.

“We look so brown,” said one.

“And so bare,” said another.

“If we only had our pretty green summer dresses,” said a third, “then we should be decorated and could keep Christmas.”

“Hush, children, hush!” whispered North Wind in quite a gentle voice for such a rough fellow.
“Make haste and go to sleep.”

“Hush! children, hush!” softly murmured a sleepy little bird.
He was roosting on one of the branches of the unhappy trees.

So the trees dropped off to sleep, one by one, while a little star twinkled peacefully overhead.

But while they slept something happened.
And when the trees awoke they found that someone,
perhaps North Wind, had, during the night,
cast over each of them a lovely soft cloak of spotless feathery white.

“How beautiful we are!” said the trees.
“Now we can keep our Christmas!”

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Read the Story : The Room – Jesus and our Sins

When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. As from the underside I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand.

I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat. She would smile at me, look down and gently say, “My son, you go about your playing for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side.”

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother’s voice say, “Son, come and sit on my knee and see the embroidery I have made for you.”

This I did only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then Mother would say to me, “My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre- drawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing.”

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Many times through the years I have looked up to the Almighty and said, “O, My God, , what are You doing?” He has answered, “I am embroidering your life.”

I say, “But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can’t they all be bright?”

The Almighty seems to tell me, “My child, you go about your business and allow me of doing My business, and one day I will put you on My knee and you will see the plan from My side.”

Do you have the patience for that ??

Haste when unwarranted is waste and may disturb the Almighty’s beautiful Plan for your life.

See the Story : Why Christ suffered so much for us?