December 24: Christmas stockings

Children all over the world will hang a Christmas stocking tonight in the hope it will be filled with good stuff by morning. Here are 10 things you might not know about Christmas stockings:

1. Nobody knows the origin of Christmas stockings for sure but it’s generally thought that the tradition began with St Nicholas. Nicholas was known for his wealth and generosity. The relevant story about him is that he heard about a poor man who worried that his daughters would never marry because he couldn’t afford a dowry. So Nicholas crept into their home one night and left bags of Gold in the stockings which had been left hanging by the fire to dry, thus saving the girls from spinsterhood.

2. Oranges, a common stocking filler, are said to represent the gold Nicholas left.

3. Another aspect of the tradition is that children who have not been good get a lump of Coal rather than oranges, toys or sweets. This originates with the Saint Nicholas story as well. Once word got out about the saint providing those girls with a dowry, other people started hanging stocking out to dry in the hope they would get something, too. If Nicholas believed they were a deserving cause, he’d leave gold, but those who were simply being greedy got the lump of coal.

4. Some historians claim that the tradition has its roots in Norse mythology. Children would leave out boots stuffed with Carrots or straw for Odin’s Horse to eat. When the horse had had its fill, Odin, out of gratitude, would leave treats for the kind children. St Nicholas, therefore, might have been a Christianisation of Odin.

5. In some parts of Europe it is and old woman called Barborka who visits a home and puts goodies (or coal) in children’s stockings.

6. Historically, children would leave out their everyday stockings, usually on St Nicholas Day rather than Christmas Eve. In the early 1800s, they also came to be used on Christmas Eve, and specific Christmassy designs began to appear. Many families make their own Christmas stockings with a family member's name on each one so Santa knows who the recipient of the gifts is to be.

7. In America the tradition was further cemented by the famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore, A Visit from Santa Claus, better known as ‘Twas Night Before Christmas. The relevant line is “the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

8. In the mid 19^th century there was a danger that the stocking tradition would be replaced by a growing trend: the Christmas Tree. Whereas today we have both, back then people chose one or the other, and when in 1883 The New York Times proclaimed a Christmas stocking “revival” had begun, thanks to a new design of stocking, this, to the writer meant “[The Christmas tree] has had its day, and the glorious reaction in favour of the sacred stocking will sweep it away forever.”

9. There’s an unwritten rule which says each stocking should contain five gifts: something the child needs, something it wants, something to read, something to wear and something to do.

10. At time of writing the Guinness record for the largest Christmas stocking is held by a volunteer emergency services organisation in Carrara, Tuscany, Italy. Their stocking measured 51 m 35 cm (168 ft 5.65 in) in length and 21 m 63 cm (70 ft 11.57 in) in width (heel to toe) and was produced in January 2011 to raise money for a charity helping the aged. Volunteers filled the stocking with balloons containing sweets.

Character birthday

December, a member of The Calendar Mob. Little is known about him except that he is a Santa Claus impersonator by profession and a lover of all things Christmas. He has powers which include a goodwill aura, the ability to transfer powers from one person to another, and the ability to communicate with animals.