Question: where does the tradition of hanging stockings come from

title: Christmas stocking
text: Very long ago , there lived a poor man and his three very beautiful daughters . He had no money to get his daughters married , and he was worried what would happen to them after his death . Saint Nicholas was passing through when he heard the villagers talking about the girls . St. Nicholas wanted to help , but knew that the old man would n't accept charity . He decided to help in secret . After dark he threw three bags of gold through an open window , one landed in a stocking . When the girls and their father woke up the next morning they found the bags of gold and were , of course , overjoyed . The girls were able to get married and live happily ever after . Other versions of the story say that Saint Nicholas threw the three bags of gold directly into the stockings which were hung by the fireplace to dry .