Father Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Father Christmas is the name used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and several other Commonwealth countries, for the gift-bringing figure of Christmas or Yuletide. The same figure with the same name exists in other countries (in that country's language), such as France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Although the terms Father Christmas and Santa Claus are often used synonymously nowadays, historically the characters were different. Amongst older speakers, the use of 'Santa' in preference to 'Father Christmas' may be thought of as an Americanism.
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[edit] History
Father Christmas is sometimes alleged to have his roots in Paganism[1], though this claim is not corroborated by any of the scanty available evidence of the period, and an alleged Saxon custom of dressing an elderly man as 'King Winter', though often referenced, is wholly unsupported. It may simply be an invention of 19th century folklorists, keen to find evidence of 'pagan survivals' in the Christmas Mummers' Plays, in which Father Christmas appears.
The personification of Christmas as a merry old figure actually begins in the early 17th century, in the context of resistance to Puritan criticism of observation of this feast. He is 'old' because of the antiquity of the Christmas feast itself, which its defenders saw as a good old custom that should be kept. Allegory was popular at the time, and so 'old Christmas' was given a voice to protest his exclusion, along with the form of a rambunctious, jolly old man.
The earliest recorded personification of Christmas appears to be Ben Jonson's creation in Christmas his Masque[2] dating from December 1616, in which Christmas appears "attir'd in round Hose, long Stockings, a close Doublet, a high crownd Hat with a Broach, a long thin beard, a Truncheon, little Ruffes, white shoes, his Scarffes, and Garters tyed crosse", and announces "Why Gentlemen, doe you know what you doe? ha! would you ha'kept me out? Christmas, old Christmas?" Later, in a masque by Thomas Nabbes, The Springs Glorie produced in 1638, 'Christmas' appears as 'an old reverend gentleman in furred gown and cap'.
The character continued to appear over the next 250 years, appearing as Sir Christmas, Lord Christmas, or Father Christmas, the latter becoming the most common. A book dating from the time of the Commonwealth, The Vindication of CHRISTMAS or, His Twelve Yeares' Observations upon the Times, involved 'Old Christmas' advocating a merry, alcoholic Christmas and casting aspersions on the charitable motives of the ruling Puritans.
The traditional Father Christmas was neither a gift bringer, nor associated with children. However, during the Victorian era, when Santa Claus arrived from America, he was merged with the character called "Sir Christmas", "Lord Christmas" or "Old Father Christmas" to create Father Christmas, the British Santa which survives today. Nowadays, most Britons use the expressions Father Christmas and Santa Claus as synonyms.
[edit] Father Christmas in literature
The Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is based on Father Christmas.
Father Christmas is the only character who appears with the same name in fiction by both of those two famous friends, C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Father Christmas Letters).
[edit] Names in various countries
The term 'Father Christmas' is used in translation in many countries: 'Father Christmas' (and in some cases baby Jesus) is used in preference to 'Santa' in Afghanistan ("Baba Chaghaloo"), Albania ("Babadimri"), Armenia ("Gaghant Baba"), Brazil ("Papai Noel"), Bulgaria ("Dyado Koleda"), Cornwall ("Tas Nadelik"), Chile (Viejo Pascuero), Denmark ("Julemanden"), Egypt ("Papa Noël"), Finland ("Joulupukki"), France and French Canada ("le Père Noël"), Germany ("Weihnachtsmann" or "Nikolaus"),Greece "Άγιος Βασίλης-Άyos Vasílis" Hungary ("Mikulás"), Iran ("Baba Noel"), Ireland ("Daidí na Nollag"), Italy ("Babbo Natale"), Latvia ("Ziemassvētku vecītis"), Lithuania ("Kalėdų Senelis"),Macedonia ("Dedo Mraz"),Malta ("San Niklaw"), Mexico ("El Niñito Dios" ("Child God", meaning Jesus)), Norway ("Julenissen"), Poland ("Święty Mikołaj"), Portugal ("Pai Natal"), Romania ("Moş Crăciun"), Russia ("Ded Moroz"), Scottish Highlands ("Daidaín na Nollaig"), Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Božić Bata"), South Africa ("Vader Kersfees"), Spain and some of Spanish-speaking Latin America ("Papá Noel" or "San Nicolás" or "Santa Claus" ), Sweden ("Jultomten"), Turkey ("Noel Baba"), and the United Kingdom ("Father Christmas").
