Hackettstown NJ
2009


All the stockings
You will find hanging in a row
Mine will be the shortest one
You'll be sure to know
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas


A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that is hung on Saint Nicholas Day or Christmas Eve so that Saint Nicholas (or the related figures of Santa Claus and Father Christmas) can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. The tradition of the Christmas stocking is thought to originate from the life of Saint Nicholas. In some Christmas stories, the contents of the Christmas stocking are the only toys the child receives at Christmas from Santa Claus; in other stories (and in tradition), some presents are also wrapped up in wrapping paper and placed under the Christmas tree. Tradition in Western culture threatens that a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece or pile of coal. Some people even put their Christmas stocking by their bedposts so Santa Claus can fill it by the bed while they sleep.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_stocking

Christmas stockings were mentioned as an established American tradition as early as 1823 in the poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas. The origin of the Christmas stocking is thought to originate in the life of Saint Nicholas.