| Father Christmas | |
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Real Name |
Unknown |
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First Appearance |
English Folkllore |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrelated English folkloric tradition. The recognizably modern figure of the English Father Christmas developed in the late Victorian period, but Christmas had been personified for centuries before then. English personifications of Christmas were first recorded in the 15th century, with Father Christmas himself first appearing in the mid 17th century in the aftermath of the English Civil War. The Puritan-controlled English government had legislated to abolish Christmas, considering it popish, and had outlawed its traditional customs. Royalist political pamphleteers, linking the old traditions with their cause, adopted Old Father Christmas as the symbol of 'the good old days' of feasting and good cheer. Following the Restoration in 1660, Father Christmas's profile declined. His character was maintained during the late 18th and into the 19th century by the Christmas folk plays later known as mummers' plays.
Until Victorian times, Father Christmas was concerned with adult feasting and merry-making. He had no particular connection with children, nor with the giving of presents, nocturnal visits, stockings, chimneys or reindeer. But as later Victorian Christmases developed into child-centric family festivals, Father Christmas became a bringer of gifts.
The popular American myth of Santa Claus arrived in England in the 1850s and Father Christmas started to take on Santa Claus's attributes. By the 1880s the new customs had become established, with the nocturnal visitor sometimes being known as Santa Claus and sometimes as Father Christmas. He was often illustrated wearing a long red hooded gown trimmed with white fur.
Charles Dickens's 1843 novel A Christmas Carol was highly influential, and has been credited both with reviving interest in Christmas in England and with shaping the themes attached to it. A famous image from the novel is John Leech's illustration of the 'Ghost of Christmas Present'. Although not explicitly named Father Christmas, the character wears a holly wreath, is shown sitting among food, drink and wassail bowl, and is dressed in the traditional loose furred gown—but in green rather than the red that later become ubiquitous.
By 1874, some Christmas mummers plays in England were including the character of Father Christmas’ wife, named Old Bet, Old Betty and Dame Dorothy in the extant transcripts. In an argument about whether their next meal should be roasted or fried, Father Christmas gets so enraged at Old Bet that he strikes her dead. Luckily, a nearby physician is able to bring her back to life.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Father Christmas from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Theatrical and Musical Appearances[]
- “Sir Christmas,” carol attributed to Richard Smart (ca. 1461–77)
- Summer’s Last Will and Testament, by Thomas Nashe (1592)
- Christmas, His Masque, by Ben Jonson (1616)
- The Spring’s Glory (masque), by Thomas Nabbes (1638)
- The Peace Egg, by Juliana Horatia Ewing (1884). (Not to be confused with Ewing’s 1872 story of the same title.)
- Christmasse in Merrie England with Old Carols, Dances and a Masque (1915)
- Queen Christmas (play), by Carolyn Wells (1922) – King Christmas and Santa Claus are separate characters.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Letter by Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of York (13 Nov. 1572)
- The Examination and Tryall of Old Father Chriſtmas, by Josiah King (1658)
- King Winter, by Gustav W. Seitz (ca. 1859). King Winter is a blend of Old Man Winter and Father Christmas.
- “My Godmother’s Picture Book” a.k.a. “Old Father Christmas,” by Juliana Horatia Ewing (1872)
- Christmas Mummers in Dorsetshire, by John Udal (26 Dec. 1874), expanded version (1880)
- “Old York,” by Rev. J. Morris (Dec. 1875)
- The Autobiography of a Father Christmas, by P. B. Power (1890)
- Neighbors of Ours, by Henry W. Nevinson (1895)
- “Father Christmas at Home,” by Mrs. M. H. Spielmann (1909)
- The Rejuvenation of Father Christmas, by J. Edgar Park (1914)
- Festivals of Western Europe, by Dorothy Gladys Spicer (1958)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Famous Funnies #89: Jitter helps Father Christmas get in shape to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.
- Santa Claus Parade (1951 series) #[nn]: The text article They Bear Gifts in Other Lands mentions Père Noël, The Three Wise Men, La Befana, Jule Nissen, Father Christmas, and Lucy.
- The Adventures of Jo-Joy in a Present for Santa!: Father Christmas is feature in the story A Present for Santa Claus! along with Santa's elves, Mrs. Claus, Santa's reindeer, St. Nick, Santa Claus, La Befana, and Jule-Nissen.
- A Christmas Treasury (1954 series) #1: There is a text article mentioning Santa Claus, Sinter Klaas, and Father Christmas.