Let's Face it, You're Probably Getting Socks Again This Year

STEINBACH, MB

Every year at this time young Mennonites around the world anticipate the annual giving and receiving of socks to commemorate the birth of the Saviour.

“It’s the most disappointing time of the year,” said young Peter F. Gerbrandt of Steinbach. “Every year I ask for a new Xbox game, and every single year it’s just piles and piles of socks.”

Older Mennonites defend the practice of sock-giving as a firm and unchangeable part of the Mennonite faith.

“When I was young, my parents gave me socks,” explained Peter’s father. “And their parents gave them socks. Mennonites have given socks as gifts for centuries. There’s no changing that now.”

While some Mennonites continue to give hand-knit socks, others haven taken to buying them in bulk at Wal-Mart.

“I can get a couple dozen pai