Father Christmas is the
British version of Santa Claus. He is an old jolly man with white hair,
a beard and a moustache. He is dressed in a red suit outlined in white. Father
Christmas and his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in the
North Pole.
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The red coat is 'new'. Images of Father Christmas prior to about 1880 showed him with a green coat. The red became the most popular colour
after the US introduction by Coca Cola during the 1930s.
History of
Father Christmas in England
Father Christmas was
originally part of an old English midwinter festival, normally dressed in
green, a sign of the returning spring. He was known as 'Sir Christmas', 'Old
Father Christmas' or Old Winter'.
In this earliest form, Father Christmas was not the bringer of gifts for
small children, nor did he come down the chimney. He simply wandered around
from home to home, knocking on doors and feasting with families before moving
on to the next house.
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The Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
(1843) is based on Father Christmas. He is described as a large man with a red
beard and fur-lined green robe. Images of Father Christmas (Santa Claus)
dressed in red started appearing on Christmas cards in the late Victorian
times.
Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas, or Sinter Klaas in Dutch, was a very shy man and wanted to
give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one
day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the
chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire!
This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and
places gifts in children's stockings.
When the Dutch introduced Sinter Klaas to the Americans they called him
Santa Claus.
What are the
different names of Father Christmas/Santa Claus?
Father Christmas is called different names around the world. The most
popular name now-a-days is Santa Claus.
Austria: Christkind
("Christ child")
Belgium: Sinterklaas
(Santa Claus) and De Kerstman ("Father Christmas")
Canada: Santa
Claus; Père Noël ("Father Christmas")
Denmark: Julemanden
Estonia: Jõuluvana
Finland: Joulupukki
France: Père Noël
("Father Christmas");
Germany:
Weihnachtsmann ("Christmas Man"); Christkind in southern Germany
Hungary: Mikulás
("Nicholas"); Jézuska or Kis Jézus ("child Jesus")
Italy: Babbo
Natale ("Father Christmas"); La Befana
Netherlands & Flanders: Sinterklaas
Norway: Julenissen
Poland: Swiety
Mikolaj
Portugal: Pai Natal
("Father Christmas")
Russia: Ded Moroz, "Grandfather Frost
Spain: Papa Noel
Sweden: Jultomten
Switzerland: Samichlaus
United Kingdom: Father
Christmas; Santa Claus
United States: Santa Claus
Source: www.projectbritain.com
