AN almost forgotten tradition of putting an orange into a Christmas stocking is to be revived at a Kendal supermarket tomorrow.

Staff at Morrisons Kendal is giving out hundreds of oranges to parents across the town and encouraging them to tell the story behind it ahead of Christmas Eve.

According to new YouGov research on behalf of Morrisons over three quarters (79 per cent) of parents with children in the household no longer tend to observe the tradition of an orange in Christmas stockings – making it now an increasingly neglected Christmas tradition that is in danger of disappearing altogether.

Tomorrow hundreds of oranges wrapped in Christmas tissue paper will be given to Kendal’s parents along with a story-card telling the history of the tradition – so that parents can read it to their children ahead of the big day.

Neil Pinkey, store manager at Morrisons Kendal, said: “Like kissing under the mistletoe and putting out carrots for Rudolph, oranges in stockings is part of the magic of Christmas.

"We want to help keep these traditions alive and help Kendal’s parents pass on the stories behind them to their children. And if Father Christmas wants to swing by and pick up an extra sack of oranges we’ll be happy to help.”

The tradition can be traced back to a story about Father Christmas who dropped three gold coins down a poor family’s chimney for them to find in the morning. They landed in the childrens’ socks which were hanging by the fire to dry. To remind us he now leaves a golden orange.