Published: December 25, 2007 08:41 pm            

Coal for Christmas seen differently in regions where mining reigns

BLUEFIELD — People in coal country have a little different take on the idea of finding coal in their stockings on Christmas morning, according to Dr. C. Stuart McGehee, director of the Eastern Regional Coal Archives in Bluefield.

“The tradition of bad little girls and boys finding coal in their Christmas stockings doesn’t have the same meaning in coal mining communities as it does in places where coal is not mined,” McGehee said. “Coal mining is more than a job in coalfields throughout the world,” McGehee said. “It is a way of life for entire families who live in coal mining communities. Coal is mined in almost every nation.”

McGehee speculated that the negative connotation associated with a child finding coal in his or her Christmas stocking likely came from an area “where there are no coal mines, and people think of coal only as being dirty.”

The idea of misbehaving children that find coal in their stockings has been around for many years. Several Internet-based sources suggest that the tradition may have originated in Italy where children received Carbone Dolce or “sweet coal” as a Christmas treat. Sweet coal is made of a mixture of chocolate and puffed rice cereal. After combining and heating the ingredients, the cooled ingredients form into lumps that resemble coal.

McGehee said that people who earn a living from coal mining don’t think of a lump of coal as being a bad thing. “People respect coal and coal miners,” he said. “Coal miners even have their own patron saint,” he said.

Saint Leonard of Noblac, a 5th and 6th Century holy man, is the patron saint of coal miners. Saint Leonard lived a life of great piety, charity and self-sacrifice, according to information posted on Everything2.com. Saint Leonard’s desire to know God led him to the monastery at Orleans, France. He later served in the court of King Clovis, and after Clovis’ army was successful in battle, the pagan king became a Christian and allowed St. Leonard to care for prisoners and to liberate anyone he found to be worthy.

Through prayer, Saint Leonard helped the wife and infant child of King Clovis to survive a difficult childbirth. Clovis granted Saint Leonard as much land as he could ride around in a day on his donkey, and from that start, he built a monastery. The poor and ailing people of the region came to Saint Leonard for blessings, and the saint preached a message of patience, humility and grace.

In addition to being the patron saint of coal miners, Saint Leonard is the patron saint of blacksmiths, captives, childbirth and women in labor, coopers, coppersmiths, grocers, horses, imprisoned people, locksmiths, porters, prisoners of war and the city of Castelmauro, Italy. He is the patron saint against burglaries, robberies and robbers. The feast of Saint Leonard is held annually on Nov. 6.

McGehee said that he didn’t have a great deal of information about traditions of putting coal in the Christmas stockings of children who misbehave, but he said that files in the coal archives contain a great deal of information about the coal/stocking tradition as well as other traditions related to coal. “We preserve the information so historical researchers can find it and work with it.” McGehee said.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

        

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