Let's find out on today's episode of...

讓我們在今天的節目中一探究竟。很難想象聖誕節的早晨沒有掛襪子的地方，但如果你真的想一想，這是一個相當奇怪的傳統，要求聖誕老人用玩具和食物填充一個大的臭襪子絕對是奇怪的，甚至更奇怪。

Colossal Questions!

It's hard to picture Christmas morning without stockings hanging somewhere.

But if you actually think about it for one second, it's a pretty weird tradition.

Asking Santa Claus to fill a big stinky sock with toys and treats is definitely strange.

And even stranger? No one really knows how it started.

沒有人真正知道它是如何開始的。

There is one popular story that's probably a bit more fiction than fact, but it gives the Christmas stocking quite the fantastical origin.

有一個流行的故事，可能有點虛構而不是事實，但它給了聖誕襪相當幻想的起源。根據這個故事，有一個有三個女兒的父親，他的生活有困難，他日復一日地努力工作，但隨著冬天的來臨，他擔心自己不能為她們做得足夠多。

According to the tale, there was a father with three daughters who is having trouble making ends meet.

He worked hard day in and day out, but as winter approached, he worried he just couldn't do enough for them.

Come Christmas time, good old Saint Nicholas happened to be in town, heard all about the family, and decided to secretly help.

到了聖誕節，好心的聖尼古拉斯碰巧在鎮上，聽說了這個家庭的所有情況，並決定在晚上偷偷地幫忙。

At night, he visited the house and found socks hanging by the fireplace to dry.

他參觀了房子，發現襪子掛在壁爐邊上，可以開車。

Being the generous gift-giver that he is, Saint Nick dug deep into his pockets and pulled out some coins, filling the socks.

作為一個慷慨的送禮者，他是這樣的。聖尼克從口袋裡掏出一些硬幣裝進襪子裡，但這只是故事的一個版本，就像我們說的，雖然很好，但可能不是真的，但無論如何，這個奇怪的襪子傳統開始了，它顯然引起了人們的注意，全歐洲的孩子都在壁爐邊掛著一隻大襪子，希望得到聖尼古拉斯的禮物。

But that's just one version of the story, and, like we said, as nice as it is, it's probably not true.

But, however this strange stocking tradition got started, it clearly caught on.

Kids were hanging a big sock by the fireplace all across Europe, hoping for a gift from Saint Nicholas.

The tradition did morph and change over time in different areas.

隨著時間的推移，這一傳統確實在不同地區發生了蛻變和變化。

Some places leave out shoes instead of stockings on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6th, instead of Christmas Eve.

有些地方把鞋子留在外面，而不是在12月6日的聖尼古拉斯石上放長筒襪，而不是在聖誕節前夕，鞋子裡有一點乾草給聖尼古拉斯的驢子，到了早上，鞋子裡就裝滿了食物和玩具，不管是鞋子裡的東西還是牛奶和餅乾與長筒襪，似乎都是同一個傳統的變種。

The shoes are left out with a bit of hay for Saint Nick's donkey, and by morning, they're filled with treats and toys.

Whether it's hay in your shoes or milk and cookies with a stocking, it all seems to be a variation on the same tradition.

By the early 1800s, the custom of hanging a stocking for Christmas had made it to the United States.

到18世紀初，聖誕節掛長筒襪的習俗已經傳到了美國，人們已經拋棄了舊的髒襪子，而選擇了專門為這個季節設計的花式長筒襪。

And people were already ditching their old dirty socks in favor of fancy stockings designed specifically for the season.

By the turn of the century, the plump, oversized stockings covered in Christmas designs that we know and love today was firmly in style.

到了世紀之交，我們今天所熟知和喜愛的覆蓋著聖誕圖案的豐滿、超大的長筒襪已經成為堅定的風格。

Not only do big, specialized holiday stockings have way more space for stuffing, but they look much nicer hanging by the chimney with care.

大的專門的節日長襪不僅有更多的空間用於填塞，而且它們在小心翼翼地掛在煙囪旁看起來更漂亮。

So, this year, remember, it might seem weird to hang stockings, but at least we've come a long way from getting gifts and our dirty laundry.

是以，今年記得掛長筒襪可能看起來很奇怪，但至少我們已經從收到禮物和我們的髒衣服走了很長一段路。嗯，嗯。