coal in their stockings, north of sth

An end to the Google bonus fairytale?
CNET News - San Francisco,CA,USA
Google employees, who have grown used to fairytale-like cash bonuses on the north side of $20000, apparently got coal in their stockings this year. ...

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north of sth
used to say that an amount is more than the stated amount:
The share price is expected to rise north of $20.

Lump of Coal Tradition

It started in Holland. When a child was bad they got a lump of coal, but if they were good they got a small toy, cookies or candy.