Stockings

The night before Christmas, we always searched through sock drawers for the biggest socks we could find. We nailed them to the mantle over the fireplace, while our grandfather made his annual prediction that this time Santa would fill the stockings with a bundle of switches, or perhaps a lump of coal.

We worried about the fire in the fireplace and made sure it was put out before we went to bed. After all, Santa had to come down that chimney.

The next morning, after we saw what Santa left under the tree, we would inspect the stockings. They would always be filled with oranges, bananas, various nuts still in their shells: walnuts, hazel nuts, Brazil nuts (though that isn't what we called them), almonds and ribbon candy. I don't ever remember eating ribbon candy except at Christmas.

By the time we emptied the stockings, we no longer worried about the fireplace.