* The red coat is 'new'. Images of Father Christmas prior to about 1880 most pictures showed him with a green coat. The red became the most popular colour after the US introduction by Coca Cola during the 1930s.
How do we know what Father Christmas looks like?
We owe much about what we know about the Father Christmas today to the Americans of the 19th Century. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore described what he imagined Father Christmas to look like in a poem.
The poem is often referred to as 'The Night Before Christmas', but originally it was titled 'A Visit from St Nicholas'.
What happens on Christmas Eve?
On Christmas eve Father Christmas piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his reindeers. The most famous one is Rudolf, the reindeer at the front who leads the way with his red nose.
 He enters our houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in stockings (large socks) or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.
Who was the real Father Christmas?
Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas. His name in Dutch is Sinter Klaas. When the Dutch introduded Sinter Klaas to the Americans they called him Santa Claus.
St. Nicholas or Sinter Klaas 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.
Who is Father Christmas?
Father Christmas is our 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.
* The red coat is 'new'. Images of Father Christmas prior to about 1880 most pictures showed him with a green coat. The red became the most popular colour after the US introduction by Coca Cola during the 1930s.
What are the different names of Father Christmas?
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
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 (not with Christmas but on December 5th)
Norway : Julenissen
Portugal : Pai Natal ("Father Christmas")
Russia : Ded Moroz, "Grandfather Frost
Spain : Papa Noel
Sweden : Jultomten
Switzerland : Christkind
United Kingdom : Father Christmas; Santa Claus
United States : Santa Claus |
