PaginePaginepagineapp.comWhere Christmas traditions came from. A free printable pack of Christmas folk tales and legends for kids — the stories behind Santa, the Christmas tree and more, retold simply.
Long ago lived a kind bishop named Nicholas, famous for secret gifts. It’s said he once dropped gold coins down a chimney to help a poor family — and they landed in stockings drying by the fire. That’s why we hang stockings today, and why Saint Nicholas became known as Santa Claus.
A German legend tells of a kind man who brought a small fir tree indoors one snowy night and lit it with candles, so its branches sparkled like the stars. Neighbours loved it so much that the decorated evergreen became a Christmas tradition around the world.
Folklore says the candy cane was shaped like a shepherd’s crook to remember the shepherds at the very first Christmas — white for peace, with a stripe of red. Whether or not it’s true, it’s a sweet story to share.
An old woman named Babushka was too busy to travel with the wise men to find the newborn child. When she finally set out, she had missed them — so, the tale says, she still travels the world at Christmas, leaving little gifts for children as she searches.
Find more free Christmas reading in the Christmas collection.