The classic line is: “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

Short answer

What is hung by the chimney?

  • Christmas stockings are what’s traditionally hung by the chimney, especially in English-speaking cultures.

Where the phrase comes from

  • The wording comes from the famous 1823 Christmas poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (often called “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”), which includes the line “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.”
  • That poem helped popularize the modern image of Santa Claus and the custom of hanging stockings near the fireplace for gifts.

Why stockings are hung there

  • Historically, people hung washed or wet stockings by the fire simply to dry them, since fireplaces were a main heat source.
  • A legend about St. Nicholas dropping coins down a chimney—where they fell into stockings left to dry—evolved into the custom of hanging stockings for him to fill with gifts.

Modern tradition

  • Today, stockings are often hung on fireplace mantels, stair rails, or walls when there is no chimney, but the phrase “hung by the chimney” remains part of Christmas culture.
  • They are typically filled with small gifts or treats on Christmas Eve to be opened on Christmas morning.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.