the STOCKING

To many, the fondest memory of childhood Christmases is the bulging stocking on Christmas morning. Hanging above the fireplace or at the end of the bed, it’s the $rst sign that Father Christmas has paid a visit. Hanging stockings on Christmas Eve has been practised since the early 19th century (they’re mentioned in Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas) but the rest of the story is somewhat murky. The most popular tale states that St Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of a Greek town (now in Turkey) who had a reputation for generosity and kindness, upon hearing about a poor, struggling widower, dropped a few gold coins into some socks he had drying above the $re.