These Hope Brass Stocking Hooks
are 6 inches wide, 4 inches tall and the hook hangs down 1.25 inches. The Christmas Stocking Holders are gold with the word HOPE standing on a gold base. It has an elegant leaf scroll design coming from the h and stops on the bottom of the o in Hope. Select to see a complete listing of our Christmas Decorations Ideas.

Christmas Presents.
It has been said that the giving of presents at Christmas time began when the three wise men gave their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh to the baby Jesus. Anciently and through the middle ages, gift giving was predominantly confined to the upper classes. Since the 18th century Christmas has become more commercial with the increase in and sophistication of, advertising campaigns. The development of the advertising industry has intensified the age old problem of gifts being too ostentatious and given for reasons other than true fellowship. Check out our selection of Unique Christmas Gifts.

History of Silent Night.
The most widely sung Christmas carol in the world began as a poem called, “Stille Nacht” by Austrian priest Josef Mohr in 1816. two years later, preparing for the Christmas Eve service in Oberndorf’s St. Nicholas church, Mohr discovered that the organ was not functioning. Legend has attributed the failure to mice gnawing through he bellows, but it is more likely that the organ in the riverside church suffered from excessive moisture and rust in its works. Mohr asked the organist Franz Gruber to compose a guitar setting for his poem and the resulting composition was sung at the midnight service.
The song would probably have been performed only on that single occasion and forgotten had a visiting musician not seen the music in the church in the early 1820’s and taken it away with him. It was played throughout Austria and Germany for the next few years, growing in popularity. The authorship of the piece remained a mystery until 1854, by which time Josef Mohr was dead. The carols had been attributed to many different composers but the director of the Royal Court Choir of Berlin, where “Silent Night” had become the favorite of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, researched the origins of the carol and succeeded in having its true creators credited for their work.
The song has been translated into over 300 languages. American Episcopal priest John Freeman Young wrote the English version in 1863. Select this link to view our Christmas Ornament Sets.

What is a Christmas Carol?
A carol is a song of joy celebrating the great Christmas festivals of Easter, Christmas and New Years. Carols are most often sung at Christmastime. The custom of singing carols has been popular in Europe since the middle Ages. It still forms a special feature of the Christmas season in many parts of the world. Bands of singers go about the streets for several nights before Christmas. They sing in the open air or visit hospitals and homes to cheer the sick and aged. Select this link to view our Crystal Christmas Ornaments and Silver.