Why do people give oranges for Christmas?

To some it represents happiness and prosperity for the coming new year.

I never thought about it
But they are so much better then what i buy in the store when i do get them

Because the Florida crop is ripe, then. It used to be such a treat to ship them by train up North in the winter. They were very expensive. To get an orange for Christmas (just one) was a fancy treat. I think they mention that in the old novel Little Women.

I really have no clue why...i always just thought it was because it they were in season

Kat and Peter that makes sense. Sandi you are right about that. She sent us one tray of tangelos (oooooh my fav!) and two trays of oranges and they are yummy. I am not supposed to eat them because of my allergies (I am allergic to almost everything including all fruits except banana's) but as long as I practice moderation the minor discomfort is worth it.

Happy Christmas! May all your Christmas wishes come true! ? :)

I never thought about it myself, as I have never gotten any. I have given fruit to work units for Christmas, just because they love it.

Did you read my post for today?

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Christmas Memories: The Message! 12.25.08

For those of you who are mostly alone and spend Christmas (or Hanukkah) with only your cat(s) or dog(s) and have no family, bringing out all the pet gifts that Santa (or Hanukkah Jack) left under the Christmas tree (or Hanukkah bush)…

I am sitting here listening to Christmas Worship Music on TBN and speaking-in-tongues. And you may ask why I am doing this? Well the music is to worship and honour my Saviour and King on what day we traditional Christians have chosen as the best day of the year to celebrate and honour our Messiah and the Son of God on, as the sure date was lost so long ago and only by in depth history research do we at least know the correct month; but we like December 25th best after all these centuries, and think that Jesus does too? Or at least does not mind it at all!

And I speak-in-tongues to worship because that water of living water that Jesus promised the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob so long ago to those that believe in Him and accept Him as their Saviour and Lord, Messiah and King, that would be a spring of life forcing its way from the depth of their inner-spirits, springing up to give them eternal life get expressed in the intense and euphoric of spiritual and natural languages that we do not know in our minds and had not learned before in the natural way, and by that means we praise and glorify God, uniting our own spirits with the Holy Spirit, praying and praising and making melodies in our hearts unto God, and speaking true mysterious into the atmosphere, filling the air with our love expressions for Jesus and our praise for Him, glorifying God and preaching spiritual truths as well, and all of it does not have to make sense to natural minds to be a good and worthy thing… because all spiritual matters do not always have the right natural words to explain to natural people who live only in the flesh and not in the spirit. The mystics and many of the prophets and seers of long ago knew, and many now know these things in their own spirits but it is difficult to explain these things to the earth-bound, worldly, trapped in this age, carnally-minded persons and people around them!

And you would not want to hear me try to sing in the natural because I am naturally untrained to sing and to worship by human means, but my spirit can really flow freely and much better when I pray, sing and get lost in divine worship by the gifting of the Holy Spirit; and the euphoria of God’s glory, love and presence really takes me up away, like the sense of when St. Paul would speak of ascending into the Third Heaven, hearing things there being said and seeing things there being done that cannot be expressed or uttered, explained by and in human means!

I went to Mass yesterday evening and had to go earlier than the Midnight Mass, as we have three ‘Christ-Masses’ to accommodate the people and families and number of those coming to Mass on Christmas Eve! And because of an explosion nearby and under the street, we had no electricity so all the Mass was done by lots of candles, more than usual, even for a Christ-Mass! And I got to be one of the torch-bearers! Not the usual kind but the two bearing oil-filled torches, not flashlights as we English call what Americans call flashlights, and the two torch-bearers, I being one of them, would show people to their sits as they came in and were general helpful in the primarily darkened Downtown Cathedral, as we always use candles for affect and electrical luminaries for practicality.

And Padre Miguel’s Message when he preached was to allow Jesus to be born in us and through us this Christmas!

The New Birth which is the message of spiritual conversion is a very important one, is was and is to Jesus the Messiah, and it is to us in the Christian Churches and the Church Universal (Catholic) around the world, whether Roman Catholic Christians or other Christians and their churches around the world, and we all who are Christians preach this same message, even if our terms and words may vary a bit, we want to be saved (converted) and know that we are by the inner assurance of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that our sins have been washed away by the shed Blood of Jesus upon that cruel and rugged Roman Cross so long ago now, but still fresh in our minds and in our lives all of this time since then, and as Moses lifted up the brass serpent upon the staff to heal and to saved all that would only look upon it and be saved, so must we sinners all look upon the cross of Jesus literally when it happened so long ago, or now in each one of our hearts to be saved from our sins, our vices and cured from our massive death march into eternal Hell! And now our ‘trail of tears’ has become for each one of us and massively for the Saved, the Highway of Holiness that we now take in thanksgiving to Jesus and His Father and ours, and by the power and enlightenment of the grace of the Holy Spirit; and by the shed Blood of Jesus, on our way to Heaven and to the New Jerusalem, and our tears now are not sorrow for ourselves, but gratitude and sincere gladness and thankfulness of all that we did not deserve before we were saved, and that we did not deserve to be saved or made into new people, a chosen race and a royal, holy priesthood unto our Father God, Jesus His Son , our Saviour and Lord being the High Priest! Alleluia and Amen! And the angels of God proclaim “Glory!”

And now that Jesus the coming and promised Messiah is here and this Christmas has been born in our hearts and through us to be shown to and revealed to the world, we preach that same Message that we have believed that upon repenting each one of us have believed and were Saved, and now we as Christians, East and West, North and South, are all one Body of Christ in the One, True Faith; and we call others and the lost and all of the world and its peoples, and all nations and its kingdoms to now here and believe the same Message that we believed, were baptized and were saved and made new people through Jesus and now all walk and seek to walk out His Message and to now walk in Newness of Life; we Christians around the world want all to hear our Message, as we heard it and were Saved, so that all who now hear that same Message will also all be Saved, looking at the manger to see that yes indeed Jesus is here and in their hearts to each on look up upon the cross of Jesus where He suffered, bled and died for those of us who believe, repenting from sin and believe, calling out to Jesus and be Saved!

This is the Message that we Christians believe and preach everywhere and in all the earth to those who are yet lost but can still believe to be Saved! Amen, Alleluia! Thank you Father God, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit! I believe and have been Saved, having been Baptized, am converted, Born Again, and am a child of God, made holy in Jesus! Amen!

Father St. John of the Cross

Hope you don't mind, but I had to skip the sermon above after the first sentence...I was about to lose my lunch. Anyhow, I just stopped by to say
Thank you for posting to this group whose only purpose is to thank you for posting to this group.

Peter is absolutely correct! My mother was raised in Montana and, even now, she has this "thing" for fresh fruit... It was such a treat when she was a child, she's never gotten used to the fact that, now, you can buy fresh fruit whenever you want to...

I always got mixed nuts (in shells) and TANGERINES in my Christmas stocking as a child... :o) very festive!

Ah, yes I read your article but what does it have to do with giving oranges as gifts? Ok, honestly I didn't read all of your article because its not really pertinent to me, but I still don't know what it has to do with giving oranges for gifts.

I'm not a 100% sure, but I know when both my g-mothers were children oranges were given as gifts. Even today, my cousins brought up a bag of oranges for chrismtas.

I always wondered this as well. I would get oranges or pears for years. Now I get popcorn, which is far more appreciated.

Oh yeah Marianne, I love the popcorn that comes in the cans and there are four different types in it. I usually mix them all together. Yummy!

I JUST ate an orange and thought of you the whole time. It was so delightful to eat such a juicy sweet tropical thing with it so cold and snowy outside in Minneapolis !!! It was like I was breaking all the rules of nature !!! ha ha ha hahahaaaa ...

Happy Oranges!

Maybe because they are in season.

We just came from Texas, and there were so many orange trees unpicked.

I needed a laugh~ They finally broke my daughters water , she has been in labor all day~

Merry Christmas!!!

... I tend to divert to Peter's comment about Oranges ...

but also would like to highlite the Christmas Sermon from Father St. John of the Cross - since the truth is not born of man ... but of God ... & made known to us through Jesus Christ!

No human can claim to be the one who inspired Jesus, or claim ownership of Jesus before or above anyone else.

Peace On Earth & Goodwill to All Mankind!
C.L.

Diane, I hope the baby comes out with ten fingers and ten toes and is perfect in every other way. Congratulations!

Ah C.L. this article is about oranges and Christmas traditions, neither of you addressed this.

Happy Chanukah, Kwanza and Winter Solstice Carolina! Happy Oranges!

It used to be that fresh fruit was harder to find in the winter. I remember as a child going to the train store to buy large bags of oranges and grapefruit. What a wonderful gift.

Merry Christmas HO! HO! HO!
Thanks for posting to Happy People
http://happypeople.gather.com/

Our uncle in florida sends us oranges and grapefruits every year for Christmas. I thought we got them just cause he lives in Florida. Never real thought anything else about it.

Happy Holidays!

Oranges at Christmas time reminds me of the Little House on the Prairie where oranges was a luxury at winter time.

I'm going to go grab myself a locally grown orange:)

Lucky you JF Mom! If only!

glitter-graphics.com

My friend gave us a fruit basket today, there were oranges in it, along with a pineapple, bananas and apples.

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I did not get oranges this year. They sound good.

I think it is a matter of choice

*shrugs* I have no idea about Christmas, but I can see the Yule symbolism in an orange. It's a bright orange ball, grows in warm sunny climates, and makes you feel good (gotta love Vitamin C). . . if there is a more Solar food I donno what it is :)

So welcome to rebirth of the Sun/son (take your pick really) and fight off scurvy at the same time :0)

Happy Hanukkah Chana :)

I grew up in a German commmunity in the Lutheran Church. Every year (early 1950s) at the Christmas eve service all the children were given a large bag that contained oranges, apples, pecans and walnuts. These items were valued food items and were considered real treats by the older generations. I don't know of any particular symbolic meaning other than they tasted good.

I do like the son/sun image pointed out above.

I've never heard of this tradition. We give out chocolate oranges, but not really real oranges. I do eat oranges on Christmas, anyway, because they're good for you.

Ooooh Darlene, my mom used to give us Droste apples for the holiday! Wow great memory! I love those things. Not crazy about the chocolate/orange mix. To me they just don't go together for some reason.

My mother said when she was a child the only time she ever got an orange to eat was when she received one in her Christmas stocking on Christmas morning. An orange was always a great treat for her!

My father said that when he was a kid in the 1920's and all the time he was growing up, the only time anyone could ever get oranges outside of Florida was at Christmastime, so they were a huge treat, more so even than candy.

Thanks Rhetta and Natalie (and everyone else that said similar things) I never knew that. My mom used to talk alot about the depression but she never mentioned fruit.

Peter hit the nail on the head up thread. Oranges were in season at Christmas. They were an extravagance because of the cost, making them a much treasured gift to receive.

My great grandmother told me that they used to be hard to get most of the year so being able to get them at Christmas was something really special. As children they looked forward to finding one or two in their stockings.

I had to do a search to find out why oranges were given. As I recieved them only at Christmas time growing up and never knew why.

Orange or tangerine in the toe of filled Christmas stockings -
The gold Nicholas threw to provide the dowry money is often shown as gold balls. These are symbolized by oranges or even apples. So the orange in the toe of the stocking is a reminder of Nicholas' gift.

Ireland - Presents and stockings are opened on Christmas morning. Expect it to be rather early if children reside in the house! As well as toys and presents, children traditionally receive an orange in the heel of their stocking. This tradition dates from a time when oranges were exotic and hard to get hold of in Ireland.

I use to give my kids oranges to. But than I moved and have an orange tree in my back yard. My kids now get oranged fresh off the tree.

Oranges are given because its tradition, back in the depression it was special treat to get them because oranges were hard to get a hold of expectantly if you didn't live in the south. So they were a sign of wealth because they were expensive to buy.

The question of oranges is interesting. I think the symbolism may well be to do with that age-old thing about humans, procreation. It could represent plenty, fertility, generosity and so on, something which developed long before the year 0 and long before some people claimed that just one person was the answer to all their wishes.

The answer to all our problems, in my opinion, does not perpetually lie in our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors, our beliefs which we have inherited from them without question; the answer is in the today.

As I have mentioned before, the only perosn whose life we can change is our own. Some of us might have the mistaken belief that we have 'power' over someone else; we all have choices. To think or need such power is to be corrupt in our thinking and not concerned enough with our fellow human being.

Peace.

giving vitamin C to fend of colds in winter???

They last awhile and are much better than even chocolates in reality. When I was a kid in New England, we seldom had any citrus so gifts like that were a real treat!

I always received an orange in the toe of my Christmas stocking as a child. As a matter of fact, the stocking was filled with fruit, candy and nuts. There was always a whole coconut and Pineapple under the tree also. All 6 of us kids would fight as to who got the treasured coconut milk when it was opened. Being the "baby" I rarely got a taste.
I agree that the tradition dates back to when oranges were a rarity in winter in the north.

Jerome, I think that is a beautiful thought that you have shared. This year with the way the economy is we could all use a symbol of plenty to keep our hopes up.

Its a European tradition brought to the states. Oranges in stockings are good luck and used to represent good health and happiness throughout the year. My mom always put one in ours but I haven't continued with my kids.

It is a tradition in our family.But I always thought that it was because when I was a kid,Oranges were expiencive. So when we got oranges it was a speacial treat.

"expiencive is the most creative spelling of that word I've ever seen!

Here's a 10 for you!! Thank you for posting this to the Gimme 10!!! Group

Because oranges in winter are so decadent in the northern part of the US. And we LOVE our decadence. heehee

Happy New Year and a 10 for you!

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I use to receive an orange in my stocking as a child. We lived in a place that didn't grow oranges and it was rare to have oranges. It was a special treat.

I know that it used to be a special treat in the olden days. I'm not sure why they do it now though. I love oranges ;)

Peter hit the head of the orange with a nail. Oranges are one of the small group of fruits that are ripe during this time of year...as are grapefruits....They come in there own protective shield, do not bruise and are so wonderful to eat, especially the navels....just make sure you take out the dust balls. :)

Oranges were always a fond memory for my mother.. her family were very poor growing up and every Christmas they looked forward to getting their shoe box...the contents were one orange, an apple, one pair of socks, hard candy, an assortment of nuts...this was all they got at times, and later, much later in life...my mother gave a shoe box to my sister and I to keep us open minded about being grateful and that were still children getting only this shoebox. God Bless.

Jeni, you mom sounds like an intelligent woman. I think we all need to realize no matter what time of year it is that even if we don't have much we should be grateful. There is always someone who has less than we have.