Father Christmas or Santa

24/11/17



Good Morning My Lovelies,

                                             Today I want to chat about :-

                                                               WHAT DO YOU SAY?

             'FATHER CHRISTMAS' OR 'SANTA' 

the jingle of sleigh bells, he's on his way

As a child I grew up believing in 'Father Christmas' then went onto raising my own children to believe in 'Father Christmas' with many many magical memories of this special time, the absolute magic of the preparation of the 'Father Christmas plate, which consisted of a couple of mince pies and glass of milk, sometimes a tipple of sherry and a big fat juicy carrot for 'Rudolph' with a few extra carrot's for the other reindeer's.

I remember all too well the excitement in our house and six children all eager to go to bed "because he'll be here sooner", trying to keep them awake and amused.  Then when it was time for bed, that last glance in the sky to see if they could spot his sleigh and the reindeer's.

Then the moment when I used to creep into their bedroom's to quietly put their stocking's at the bottom of their bed's.  Then wait for it, that early morning pitter patter of footsteps running around in and out of eachother's rooms shouting "he's been, he's been"

So many people think that Father Christmas is the British name for Santa Claus, although  Father Christmas and Santa Claus are considered to be the same person today, however, Father Christmas is a completely different person, with a much much longer history.

In America Santa Claus has one source, originated from Dutch settler's stories about Sinter Klass, which is the Dutch name for St.Nicholas, who gave presents to girls and boys.  St.Nicholas, a Bishop of Myra in Turkey in the 3rd century AD,  would travel around in his red robes and hand out gifts to the poor, and believed to be very kind to children, despite his shy personality.  Legend has it, he was wanting to give a family some money in secret, so he dropped some gold coins down their chimney, landing in one of the girl's stocking.  

St.Nicholas arrived in Britain after the Norman Invasion, his story absorbed very quickly into the legend of the Father Christmas we have all grown to love, but in fact he had already been around for Centuries.

'So How Did Father Christmas Become Santa Claus'

After the reformation in 16th Century Northern Europe, the stories and traditions about St.Nicholas started to become unpopular.  But, someone had to deliver presents to the children, that's when in the United Kingdom he became Father Christmas or Old Man Christmas, an old character from stories from the middle ages in the United Kingdom and France.

Over time, the UK's Father Christmas and America's Santa Claus became more and more alike, and have now become one of the same.  Some people like to say he lives in the North Pole in Finland, while others like to say he lives in the North part of of the country called Lapland, well at least they have reindeer in Lapland.

It does however, appear that everyone agrees that he travels through the sky on a sledge that is pulled by his reindeer's, that he comes into your house by coming down the chimney at night and leaves presents for the children in socks or sacks by their beds, or in front of the fireplace or Christmas tree.

'Now For The Modern Traditions'

When Christmas Eve comes about, what do you leave out to Father Christmas/Santa?  Mince pies or cookies?

Have you ever thought about where this tradition comes from?  Researching this, I couldn't actually find any one reason behind this tradition, as it seems that depending on where you are in the world, almost dictates what you leave out. For example, as Father Christmas/Santa starts his journey in Australia, Australian children leave out a nice cold beer, in Denmark they leave out rice pudding, in Ireland the children leave out mince pies and a pint of Guinness, in
America it's cookies and milk and of course here in the UK it's traditionally mince pies with a glass of milk, sometimes a tipple of something stronger like, sherry or whiskey, and not forgetting the reindeer, a nice fat juicy carrot or two.

One of the modern twists on tradition, most certainly in the UK, is the introduction of the Father Christmas/Santa plate, where every section is marked out with where you should place the mince pie, the carrot and the milk, and you can even have them custom made to include your childs name.  I have even seen special milk bottles for Father Christmas/Santa.  With the addition of these two items, special snow you can put down indoors, a magic key so he can get into your house and a Santa Stop Here sign, we are a long way away from the old tradition.  I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing, I think change is good for us, and what is becoming the 'new' tradition will in fact we an 'old' tradition one day.

There is however, another confectionary treat creaping in, its the addition of leaving out candy canes, ummm, I wonder where this will take us.

For me, well I still very much enjoy leaving his mince pies, milk, sherry and a juicy carrot for Rudolph on the fire hearth, and will continue with this tradition, and await the sound of my Husband enjoying this offering with a hohoho.

Until next time,

Have a Very Happy Christmas,

stay safe and stay fabulous,

Love Lesleyanne xx

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