Stockings and Crackers - Christmas blog day 2

Stockings:

There is no record of where the stockings thing came from originally. The most popular story is that of the poor man with three daughters. To prevent them from having to fall into sin St Nicholas snuck into the man's house and left money in the girls' stockings. There are similar stories from Norse mythology such as Odin sneaking into homes to leave gifts for children.

The largest stocking on record was 168' 5.65" in length and 70' 11.57" from heel to toe.

Crackers:

Have been popular in the Commonwealth since the 1840s. Tradition states that Tom Smith invented the modern popping cracker with gifts inside in 1847 and there is a memorial to him in Finsbury Park in London.

For those not in the know, a Christmas cracker is a paper tube filled with a joke, paper hat and a toy that pops when pulled apart due to a small amount of explosive. The tackier the toy and joke inside the better in my view.

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