Christmas Stockings

There is nothing more Christmassy than the sight of Christmas Stockings hung up in the house. It is the promise that Father Christmas is coming and they will be filled with lovely presents and treats on Christmas Morning.

Often the Christmas Stocking is filled with small items such as sweets, fruit (oranges) and small toys and this is where the phrase ‘stocking fillers’ comes from; small, cheap items that make the actual hoard of presents look much bigger. In some households the stocking is the only place where Father Christmas leaves toys so these obviously have to be quite large!

The legend behind the Christmas Stocking is associated with Saint Nicholas who lived in the 3^rd century. He was known for his generous and giving nature and one version of this story goes as follows:

“There was a man with three beautiful daughters but he had no money for them to get married. Saint Nicholas heard about the girls’ plight and wanted to help but knew the man would be too proud to accept charity. Saint Nicholas waited until night-time and thought to leave three bags of gold for the daughters in the house anonymously. He was looking around for somewhere to hide them and saw the girls’ stockings hanging up to dry by the fire he put a bag in each one and left. The next morning the girls found the bags and were able to get married and lived happily ever after.”

The World’s Largest Christmas Stocking (so far) was recorded in Carrara Italy in January 2011. It was a massive 51metres long and 21 metres from heel to toe and was filled with balloons which had sweets inside.

Happy Christmas!!

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