Almost everyone knows, these days, that Santa Claus came to us over the centuries from Saint Nicholas. But why do some people still insist on calling him Father Christmas?
The truth is that there is a huge case of mistaken identity happening here as both names have distinctly different origins.
The Transformation of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas was a popular figure in Turkey in the 3rd and 4th Centuries. As the Patron Saint of children (and, surprisingly, the Patron Saint of pawnbrokers) Saint Nicholas became popular amongst the Dutch as Sinter Klaas, but this was further transformed to Santa Claus when the Dutch brought this tradition with them to the Americas.
Famously, Santa Claus underwent his final and biggest make-over in the 1930's when a hugely successful Coca-Cola advertising campaign gave him the red and white outfit and appearance we recognise today.
Alternatively, the origins of Father Christmas go back even further still and predate Christ, despite the name he would come to be known as.
Old Man Winter, Knocking at Your Door
Originally called Father Winter or Old Man Winter, he was a popular part of the Midwinter festivals that took place in the British Isles and Northern Europe. An elder of the village would dress up to personify winter and would visit each house within the village or community. The family would provide him with food and drink, thereby appeasing the winter elements and providing luck for the coming year.
The Midwinter festivals were full of these superstitious traditions that all seemed to rely on pleasing the spirits to reduce the severity of the winter elements and Father Christmas was just one more of these.
Renamed after the adaptation of the Midwinter festivals into the Christmas celebrations in the fourth century, the tradition was too popular to disappear and continued in a similar form for the following hundreds of years.
Two Traditions Become One
It wasn't until the Nineteenth Century and the arrival of the Santa Claus tradition in England that the two characters began to become merged as one. As both characters were said to visit all houses at Christmas, the merging was an obvious one.
For some British and Europeans, the distinction of Father Christmas over Santa Claus is defended, but many now use the two names interchangeably. Even so, there can still be seen traces of the original Father Christmas if you know where to look.
In certain parts of the British Isles, for example, Father Christmas is often not depicted as the popular Coca-Cola Santa Claus of today, but as a thinner, long cloaked and hooded old man more in keeping with the old tradition. Sometimes, the colours may be the same in a further merging of traditions, but he may also appear in all manner of bright colours and accessories, distinguishing Father Christmas even more from the commercialised Santa of today.
