According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, "medieval herbalists used pomanders - mixtures of fragrant dried herbs in cloth bags or perforated boxes - to ward of illness or bring strength and good fortune."
As a child, our Christmas mornings began with opening stockings once everyone was awake. Stockings were always chock full of good stuff. One year Mom put an orange in each of our stockings and I was very perplexed. Not disappointed, just perplexed. Why would I have an orange in my stocking when I could walk to the kitchen and grab one from the fruit basket? Mom explained how she and her siblings always got an orange in their stockings as a child and what a rare treat it was to have citrus fruit in the winter. It made sense as far as I was concerned and I appreciated the mini-history lesson. Due to this story I try to incorporate oranges with cloves stuck in them into my Christmas decorating.
I've read that in the 19th century, the well-off would use orange pomanders as part of their Christmas decorations because oranges were considered a rare treat and something of an extravagance. The citrus scent combined with the smell of cloves smelled heavenly and probably helped to alleviate basic household odors. How to make them? I use a pin to help start the holes for the cloves and then simply add the cloves. Nothing could be easier and they look and smell great.
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