The history of the Christmas-stocking tradition is murky.

It may have originated with a story about the Norse god Odin, who relied on donations of carrots stuffed in socks to feed his flying horse; other sources claim it began with a myth about a poor but good-hearted German who found balls of gold from St. Nicholas in wet stockings he’d hung by the fire.

However it started, one thing is certain: reaching into a sock filled with goodies on Christmas morning, for Christian and Western celebrants of the fest, never gets old.

For one Sikh-Canadian, Sardarni Daljit Kaur Sidhu, neither does the tradition of knitting oversize, one-of-a-kind stockings for Santa to fill.

Hired 20 years ago by Fiona Filipski (née Reid) -- co-owner of Reid’s Stationers and designer of knitwear -- Mrs. Sidhu, an 89-year-old grandmother of eight, churns out upwards of 200 of these stretchy cotton socks annually.

“Years ago, Mrs. Sidhu knit sweaters I designed but she just kept wanting to knit, so it evolved to stockings,” says Filipski, who comes up with the variety of patterns for Mrs. Sidhu to work from, ranging from stripes and stars to poodles and cowboys. Filipski also orders the yarn for Mrs. Sidhu, who is originally from Ramgarh in Punjab and speaks little English.

“I deliver the yarn and patterns to her home several times a year. She’s super-motivated -- she can make a stocking within a few days.”

The idea for the venti-sized socks came from Filipski’s own family history of never having enough room in a traditional felt sock to accommodate bigger items. “My mom still stuffs our stockings to this day,” says Filipski. “She likes to have room enough for stuff like kitchenware and clothes, slippers, shampoo, that sort of thing. Even our dog has a stocking.”

As is often the case with lovingly handmade goods, neither party is making a fortune on the stockings, which sell for $49.98 apiece. Still, the happy, symbiotic vibes flowing between Mrs. Sidhu’s fingers and Reid’s storefront are apparently riches enough.

“It’s a rewarding relationship: we adore the stockings, and Mrs. Sidhu loves making them,” says Filipski. “It keeps her busy.”

Filipski adds with awe in her voice that, from time to time, Mrs. Sidhu will say, “‘I’m just going to rest for one day!’ But then she starts right back up again.”

Even Santa can only dream of such a passionate and cheerful elf in his midst.

December 20, 2013

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