The lush plush burgundy holiday stockings are 21 inches long including the 2 inch plush fabric hanger loop. The stocking has a 4.5 inch, lush burgundy pile cuff. The body of the stocking is the same long plush burgundy pile fur fabric. This large 21 inch stocking will hold a lot of Christmas stocking stuffers for the good boys and girls. Select this link to view all of our Christmas stockings.
Mistletoe: Sacred to ancient druids and a symbol of eternal life the same way as Christmas tree. The Romans valued it as a symbol of peace and this lead eventually its acceptance among Christmas props. Kissing under mistletoe was a Roman custom, too.
Christmas plays: Religious plays were part of the Medieval Christian tradition and many of them were connected with Christmas. The plays were often communal with pageants and general participation. A popular theme was the coming of the Magi, because the plot allowed lots of pomp and decorative props to please the audience. These plays live on in many places, such as Finland, in the form of the traditional Star Boys drama.
The tradition of Korvatunturi: Literally, Mount Ear, in Lapland. The height is only about half a kilometer, so it is really just a big hill. It has three summits with the Finnish, Russian border divideing them. The traditional dwelling place of the Finnish Father Christmas, "Joulupukki". This region belongs to the reindeer country proper, thus the place is lots better for Santa to live than the North Pole.
Korvatunturi is situated within the border region which is strictly off limits for ordinary tourists, maybe this has added to the myth and mystery of the place. This tradition is very young, beginning in 1927 when the Finnish radio personality Uncle Marcus invented the whole thing by telling his young listeners that Father Christmas lived in Korvatunturi and used the ears of the mountain to listen to the wishes of children. This stuck and the story goes that after the war, when Finland was compelled to make concessions to Russia, they demanded the whole mountain, but relented when they were told about the significance of Korvatunturi for the Finnish children.
Reindeer: The reindeer is an Arctic-dwelling deer (Rangifer tarandus), otherwise known as caribou. Economically important herds in the north of the Old World have become less important.
Popular Christmas myth has it that they are used by Santa Claus to move his sleigh around during his trip to distribute toys to children on the night before Christmas. Because of this, they are often associated with the holiday. Select this link to view our unique angel gifts.
The Sleigh or Sled:
A sled or sleigh is a vehicle with runners for sliding instead of wheels for rolling. It is used for transport on surfaces with low friction, usually snow or ice.
Sleds are typically smaller and simpler than sleighs. With only gravity as the propelling force, a sled can be used downhill, also as a toy. Alternatively, it may be pulled by animals.
A troika is a vehicle drawn by three horses, usually a sled, but it may also be a wheeled carriage.
The fictional flying sleigh of Santa Claus is pulled by flying reindeer. It involves little sliding, perhaps only during take off and landing.
The various categories of sleds include: Coaster sled, Wooden sled, Draft animal sled, Horse drawn sleigh, Dog sled, Flying sleigh, Bobsled.
The tradition of Korvatunturi: Literally, Mount Ear, in Lapland. The height is only about half a kilometer, so it is really just a big hill. It has three summits with the Finnish, Russian border divideing them. The traditional dwelling place of the Finnish Father Christmas, "Joulupukki". This region belongs to the reindeer country proper, thus the place is lots better for Santa to live than the North Pole. Select this link to view our gold ornament and red Christmas ornaments.