Christmas Stocking Trivia: Fun Facts About a Beloved Tradition

The Christmas stocking tradition, which took root in the early centuries A.D., is perhaps one of the most beloved holiday traditions. (It’s certainly one that is near and dear to our hearts here at MerryStockings.)

But beyond the simple fact that “it’s tradition,” there’s more to know and love about Christmas stockings. What exactly? Here are a few of our favorite pieces of Christmas stocking trivia.

Fun Facts About Christmas Stockings

1. St. Nicholas is widely credited with the beginning of the Christmas stocking tradition

While there is no written record of the exact origins of Christmas stockings, multiple Christian legends point to St. Nicholas as the inspiration for this holiday tradition. Why?

Because before being named the patron saint of children, Nicholas was known for his wealth and generosity. As legend has it, Nicholas caught wind of a poor shopkeeper who worried his daughters would never marry because he couldn’t afford a dowry.

So one night Nicholas crept into the family’s home and left bags of gold in the stockings — which may have been left by the fire to dry — of each girl. When they woke the next morning, their worries were gone as their problem had been solved.

Of course, the legend of St. Nicholas is also the inspiration for Santa Claus (a.k.a “Jolly Old St. Nick”) and his equivalents around the world, too.

2. St. Nicholas may also be the inspiration behind organes as stocking stuffers

While there are several theories, some say that using oranges as stocking stuffers represents the gold St. Nicholas gifted the shopkeeper’s daughters.

3. St. Nicholas can also be tied to the one stocking stuffer every kid dreads

Kids around the world worry that just one bad deed over the course of the year could land them on Santa’s “Naughty List,” resulting in a stocking full of coal on Christmas morning. And as it turns out, St. Nicholas may have something to do with that, too.

As the story goes, the news of the shopkeeper’s miracle began to spread. And in hopes of receiving gifts too, others began to leave their stockings by the fire. Nicholas continued to visit homes, but for those people he knew to be bad, he allegedly left a lump of coal.

4. Clement Clarke Moore may be the reason we hang our stockings by the fireplace

Sure, some versions of the St. Nicholas legend point to stockings being placed by the fire in hopes of receiving a generous gift. And others say it started out as a Dutch tradition. But as one publication points out, for most Americans the tradition may come from Clement Clarke Moore’s beloved poem “A Visit from Santa Claus” — which is better known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Moore famously wrote that “the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

5. A world-record for the largest Christmas stocking was set in 2011

The title of “World’s Largest Christmas Stocking” belongs to an Italian volunteer organization. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, volunteer emergency services organization Pubblica Assistenza Carrara e Sezioni set the record way back in January 2011.

Just how big was this stocking? The stocking measured in at a whopping 168 feet and 5.65 inches in length, and 70 feet and 11.57 inches in width, from heel to toe.

As part of the guidelines for the world record, the stocking also needed to be filled. So, volunteers stuffed the stocking with candy-filled balloons.

6. Nearly 1.8 billion of a certain popular stocking stuffer are made each year

Beginning as a simple “sugar stick,” candy canes have been a popular Christmas stocking stuffer since at least the late 1800s. And each year, roughly 1.76 billion candy canes are made — and about 90% are sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

7. At one point in American history, Christmas stockings were “banished” from tradition

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Photo credit: The New York Times[/caption]

The Christmas stocking tradition is one of the oldest holiday traditions. But in the mid-1800s the tradition began to disappear in American homes as a newer tradition began to grow in popularity: the Christmas tree.

That’s right. While Christmas tree and Christmas stocking traditions live in harmony now, at one point the “German Christmas tree” had started to replace the stocking as the holiday centerpiece.

But as an article in The New York Times on Dec. 26, 1883 proclaimed, a Christmas stocking “revival” had begun. The writer — who was clearly Team Christmas Stockings — credited a new stocking design with the resurgence, saying that its elasticity made it suitable for families of all economic backgrounds.

The writer ended the piece by stating: “[The Christmas tree] has had its day, and the glorious reaction in favor of the sacred stocking will sweep it away forever.”

Find the Perfect Christmas Stockings for Your Traditions

Whether you want something ready-made or you’re looking to do-it-yourself, MerryStockings has an incredible selection of personalized Christmas stockings and Christmas stocking craft kits.