Shoes by the Fire In other countries, the tradition varies slightly with stockings and nibbles and drinks for Father Christmas, but French children leave their shoes by the fireplace in the hope that Father Christmas will fill them with presents.
In France, children leave out their shoes or socks in front of the fireplace, hoping Père Nöel will fill them to the brim with little presents, sweets, fruit, nuts and anything else that will fit in there. Children with small feet must feel shortchanged.
On the night of Christmas Eve, everyone will place their shoe or slipper around le sapin de Noël or in front of the fireplace. Father Christmas, le Père Noël, will then know where to put people's presents.
According to tradition, on Christmas Eve children leave their shoes by the fireplace filled with carrots and treats for Père Noël's donkey, Gui (French for "Mistletoe") before they go to bed. Père Noël takes the offerings and, if the child has been good, leaves presents in their place.
In France, children put their shoes by the fireplace and Pere Noel fills them with presents.
Children do not hang stockings, but rather leave their shoes and slippers by the fireplace. If they have been good, Père Noël will leave treats in their shoes or slippers. Nowadays, he often also leaves piles of presents under the tree.
Western Europe
In France, it is less common to take one's shoes off systematically when entering one's home or to request that guests do. In the Netherlands it is a little uncommon to take off your shoes at home. Visitors are not usually expected to take off their shoes when entering a home.
Santa Claus is 'Père Noël' in France, and on Christmas Eve, he travels around the world handing out presents. The tradition used to be for French children to fill their shoes with carrots for Père Noël's donkey and put them by the fireplace, but today that has been replaced with the Christmas tree.
Traditionally French children place their shoes in front of the fireplace hoping that Father Christmas or as he is called in France – Père Noël (or sometimes called Papa Noël) will fill them with gifts. Sweets, fruit, nuts and small toys are hung on the tree overnight.
In other countries, the tradition varies slightly with stockings and nibbles and drinks for Father Christmas, but French children leave their shoes by the fireplace in the hope that Father Christmas will fill them with presents.
Children hang Christmas stockings or bags up ready for Father Christmas, who will hopefully fill them up with presents, if the children have been good. Why do the children hang up Christmas stockings? Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney.
On the evening that Sinterklaas arrives in The Netherlands, children leave a shoe out by the fireplace or sometimes a windowsill and sing Sinterklaas songs.
The sapin de Noël (Christmas tree) is the main decoration in homes, streets, shops, and offices. On le Réveillon (Christmas Eve), children leave a pair of shoes out under the Christmas tree for Father Christmas to bring them presents and fill up their shoes.
Independent researcher Brian Hoggard has observed that the locations in which these shoes are typically found – in chimneys, under floors, above ceilings, around doors and windows, in the roof – suggest that some may have been concealed as magical charms to protect the occupants of the building against evil influences ...
And so, every year on the night before the 6th December, children leave out a boot or a shoe for St Nicholas who gives out gifts, sweets and gingerbread to all the good children, and Père Fouettard leaves the naughty ones lumps of coal.
In Victorian England it was traditional to throw old shoes at a married couple at their wedding to bring good luck. In many Arab cultures, shoes are seen as unclean, and it is particularly insulting to throw one at a person.
In general, the French avoid giving gifts at the first business meeting. When invited to someone's home, most French bring a gift and present it before the meal or party. Good gifts reflect an appreciation of knowledge and the arts, such as books and music. Gifts should not insult the intelligence of French associates.
The most commonly gifted items to a host are flowers, chocolates, or liqueur in French culture. Whichever you choose, make sure that it is a high-quality item. Giving something cheap is considered an insult. If you choose to give flowers, the type of flowers you choose will say a lot.
Children in the Netherlands leave their shoes filled with hay, carrots, and sugar for Sinterklaas's horse. In the morning, the horse treats have been replaced with gifts for the children.
Answer and Explanation: 'Shoes' in French is les chaussures (lay SHO-sure). 'Chaussure' is also a word in the English language meaning a foot covering. There are also words for specific types of shoes. For instance, des sabots (day sa-BOW) are clogs.
Sankt Nikolaus comes during the night, filling the boots with small toys and leaves a plate of cookies, candies, nuts, apples, and oranges. Some areas have local customs. In Stuttgart, for example, kids dress up as Nikolaus and go door-to-door asking for sweets—much like trick-or-treating in the United States.
After talking with four experts, the verdict's clear that it's definitely acceptable to request that your house guests remove their shoes. After all, it is your house, so you do, in fact, get to make the rules. Just maybe have a few extra pairs of socks or slippers handy for any unexpected visitors!
In many countries like Germany, Switzerland, Skandinavian countries, Turkey, Japan, Korea etc. it is common use to take off the shoes when entering someone's home. In these countries it is considered a major faux pas to walk through a house with shoes on.
THE NETHERLANDS
In the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, children put one of their shoes by the fire on the Saturday nights before bed, filled with carrots, treats, poems or drawings for 'Sinterklaas' and his horse in the hope that they'll wake up to little gifts in their shoe in return.