What Does Santa Claus Do When Christmas Is Over?

In Josiah King reprinted his pamphlet with additional material. In this version, the restored Father Christmas is looking better: Old Christmass Returnd , a ballad collected by Samuel Pepys , celebrated the revival of festivities in the latter part of the century: As interest in Christmas customs waned, Father Christmas's profile declined. The character Scabbard remarks, "Men are grown so By the late 18th century Father Christmas had become a stock character in the Christmas folk plays later known as mummers plays. During the following century they became probably the most widespread of all calendar customs.

The oldest extant speech [36] [37] is from Truro, Cornwall in the late s:. During the Victorian period Christmas customs enjoyed a significant revival, including the figure of Father Christmas himself as the emblem of 'good cheer'. His physical appearance at this time became more variable, and he was by no means always portrayed as the old and bearded figure imagined by 17th century writers. In his poem Marmion of Walter Scott wrote.

Scott's phrase Merry England has been adopted by historians to describe the romantic notion that there was a golden age of the English past, allegedly since lost, that was characterised by universal hospitality and charity. The notion had a profound influence on the way that popular customs were seen, and most of the 19th century writers who bemoaned the state of contemporary Christmases were, at least to some extent, yearning for the mythical Merry England version.

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In an extended allegory, Hervey imagines his contemporary Old Father Christmas as a white-bearded magician dressed in a long robe and crowned with holly. His children are identified as Roast Beef Sir Loin and his faithful squire or bottle-holder Plum Pudding; the slender figure of Wassail with her fount of perpetual youth; a 'tricksy spirit' who bears the bowl and is on the best of terms with the Turkey; Mumming; Misrule, with a feather in his cap; the Lord of Twelfth Night under a state-canopy of cake and wearing his ancient crown; Saint Distaff looking like an old maid "she used to be a sad romp; but her merriest days we fear are over" ; Carol singing; the Waits; and the twin-faced Janus.

Hervey ends by lamenting the lost "uproarious merriment" of Christmas, and calls on his readers "who know anything of the 'old, old, very old, gray-bearded gentleman' or his family to aid us in our search after them; and with their good help we will endeavor to restore them to some portion of their ancient honors in England". Father Christmas or Old Christmas, represented as a jolly-faced bearded man often surrounded by plentiful food and drink, started to appear regularly in illustrated magazines of the s.

Charles Dickens 's 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. Old Father Christmas continued to make his annual appearance in Christmas folk plays throughout the 19th century, his appearance varying considerably according to local custom. Sometimes, as in Hervey's book of , [47] he was portrayed below left as a hunchback. One unusual portrayal below centre was described several times by William Sandys between and , all in essentially the same terms: A hunchback Old Father Christmas in an play with long robe, holly wreath and staff.

The Old Father Christmas character is on the far left. In a Hampshire folk play of Father Christmas is portrayed as a disabled soldier: In the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the next the folk play tradition in England rapidly faded, [55] and the plays almost died out after the First World War [56] taking their ability to influence the character of Father Christmas with them.

In pre-Victorian personifications, Father Christmas had been concerned essentially with adult feasting and games. He had no particular connection with children, nor with the giving of presents. Nicholas , usually attributed to the New York writer Clement Clarke Moore , which developed the character further. Moore's poem became immensely popular [2] and Santa Claus customs, initially localized in the Dutch American areas, were becoming general in the United States by the middle of the century.

This noted that one of the chief features of the American New Year's Eve was a custom carried over from the Dutch, namely the arrival of Santa Claus with gifts for the children. Santa Claus is "no other than the Pelz Nickel of Germany He arrives in Germany about a fortnight before Christmas, but as may be supposed from all the visits he has to pay there, and the length of his voyage, he does not arrive in America, until this eve. From advertisements began appearing in UK newspapers for a new transatlantic passenger service to and from New York aboard the Eagle Line's ship Santa Claus , [61] and returning visitors and emigrants to the UK on this and other vessels will have been familiar with the American figure.

A Scottish reference has Santa Claus leaving presents on New Year's Eve , with children "hanging their stockings up on each side of the fire-place, in their sleeping apartments, at night, and waiting patiently till morning, to see what Santa Claus puts into them during their slumbers". What will Santa Claus bring us? A Visit from St. Nicholas was published in England in December in Notes and Queries. The Stocking of the title tells of how in England, "a great many years ago", it saw Father Christmas enter with his traditional refrain "Oh!

His dress "was a long brown robe which fell down about his feet, and on it were sewed little spots of white cloth to represent snow". The blurring of public roles occurred quite rapidly. He wore a great furry white coat and cap, and a long white beard and hair spoke to his hoar antiquity. Behind his bower he had a large selection of fancy articles which formed the gifts he distributed to holders of prize tickets from time to time during the day Father Christmas bore in his hand a small Christmas tree laden with bright little gifts and bon-bons, and altogether he looked like the familiar Santa Claus or Father Christmas of the picture book.

During the s and 70s Father Christmas became a popular subject on Christmas cards , where he was shown in many different costumes. An illustrated article of explained the concept of The Cave of Mystery. In an imagined children's party this took the form of a recess in the library which evoked "dim visions of the cave of Aladdin" and was "well filled The young guests "tremblingly await the decision of the improvised Father Christmas, with his flowing grey beard, long robe, and slender staff".

From the s onwards, Christmas shopping had begun to evolve as a separate seasonal activity, and by the late 19th century it had become an important part of the English Christmas. Sometimes the two characters continued to be presented as separate, as in a procession at the Olympia Exhibition of in which both Father Christmas and Santa Claus took part, with Little Red Riding Hood and other children's characters in between.

In the well-lighted window is a representation of Father Christmas, with the printed intimation that 'Santa Claus is arranging within. Even after the appearance of the store grotto, it was still not firmly established who should hand out gifts at parties. A writer in the Illustrated London News of December suggested that a Sibyl should dispense gifts from a 'snow cave', [76] but a little over a year later she had changed her recommendation to a gypsy in a 'magic cave'.

He must have a white head and a long white beard, of course. Wig and beard can be cheaply hired from a theatrical costumier, or may be improvised from tow in case of need. He should wear a greatcoat down to his heels, liberally sprinkled with flour as though he had just come from that land of ice where Father Christmas is supposed to reside. The nocturnal visitor aspect of the American myth took much longer to become naturalised.

From the s it had been accepted readily enough that presents were left for children by unseen hands overnight on Christmas Eve, but the receptacle was a matter of debate, [78] as was the nature of the visitor. Before Santa Claus and the stocking became ubiquitous, one English tradition had been for fairies to visit on Christmas Eve to leave gifts in shoes set out in front of the fireplace.

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Aspects of the American Santa Claus myth were sometimes adopted in isolation and applied to Father Christmas. In a short fantasy piece, the editor of the Cheltenham Chronicle in dreamt of being seized by the collar by Father Christmas, "rising up like a Geni of the Arabian Nights Hovering over the roof of a house, Father Christmas cries 'Open Sesame' to have the roof roll back to disclose the scene within.

It was not until the s that the tradition of a nocturnal Santa Claus began to be adopted by ordinary people. Folklorists and antiquarians were not, it seems, familiar with the new local customs and Ronald Hutton notes that in the newly formed Folk-Lore Society , ignorant of American practices, was still "excitedly trying to discover the source of the new belief". In January the antiquarian Edwin Lees wrote to Notes and Queries seeking information about an observance he had been told about by 'a country person': This is of course well known, and the master of the house does in reality place a Christmas gift secretly in each stocking; but the giggling girls in the morning, when bringing down their presents, affect to say that Santiclaus visited and filled the stockings in the night.

From what region of the earth or air this benevolent Santiclaus takes flight I have not been able to ascertain By the s the American myth had become firmly established in the popular English imagination, the nocturnal visitor sometimes being known as Santa Claus and sometimes as Father Christmas often complete with a hooded robe. So to bed my bairnies dear. Representations of the developing character at this period were sometimes labelled 'Santa Claus' and sometimes 'Father Christmas', with a tendency for the latter still to allude to old-style associations with charity and with food and drink, as in several of these Punch illustrations:.

Any residual distinctions between Father Christmas and Santa Claus largely faded away in the early years of the new century, and it was reported in , "The majority of children to-day It took many years for authors and illustrators to agree that Father Christmas's costume should be portrayed as red—although that was always the most common colour—and he could sometimes be found in a gown of brown, green, blue or white. Father Christmas's common form for much of the 20th century was described by his entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.

He is "the personification of Christmas as a benevolent old man with a flowing white beard, wearing a red sleeved gown and hood trimmed with white fur, and carrying a sack of Christmas presents". In an editorial in The Times opined that while most adults may be under the impression that [the English] Father Christmas is home-bred, and is "a good insular John Bull old gentleman", many children, "led away The classic illustration by the US artist Thomas Nast was held to be "the authorised version of how Santa Claus should look—in America, that is.

Father Christmas appeared in many 20th century English-language works of fiction, including J. Tolkien 's Father Christmas Letters , a series of private letters to his children written between and and first published in Modern dictionaries consider the terms Father Christmas and Santa Claus to be synonymous. The name carries a somewhat socially superior cachet and is thus preferred by certain advertisers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the Christmas character of English folklore and myth.

For the correspondingly-named character in other countries and languages, see List of Christmas and winter gift-bringers by country. For other uses, see Father Christmas disambiguation. Retrieved 19 January The Rise and Fall of Merry England. A Dictionary of English Folklore. The Stripping of the Altars. New Haven and London: Retrieved 12 January The Renaissance in Europe: The Stations of the Sun. Costumes and Scripts in Elizabethan Theatres.

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University of Alberta Press. University of Leeds BA dissertation. The Works of Thomas Nabbes, volume the second. Quoted in Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, , ed. Retrieved 15 January The online transcript is from a later reprinting of Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments. A new dramatic entertainment, called a Christmas Tale: The corner of the Adelphi, in the Strand [London]: Traditional Drama Forum 6. Christopher Columbus named a port in Haiti for St.

Nicholas in , and the Spanish also named the St. Nicholas Ferry settlement now Jacksonville, Florida after him. Eventually, the use of Christmas stockings began to replace boots. In other countries, the figure of St. Nicholas was blended with local pagan folklore. This new version of the folkloric creature was obviously inspired by the Santa Claus traditions that were gradually spreading to Scandinavia.

Even though the tradition of the Yule Goat as a bringer of presents is now gone, a straw goat is still a very common Christmas decoration in all of Scandinavia. His feast, known as Sinterklaasfest , dates back to the Middle Ages and originally combined philanthropy to the poor with parties of Carnival-style excess. The feast takes place on December 6, and eventually came to be celebrated in many countries around the world. Most of the iconic imagery we associate with Santa Claus actually started with Sinterklaas, who was a blend of pagan and Christian traditions.

Just as Odin rode Sleipnir, Sinterklaas rides a white horse.

Why Does Santa Claus Come Down the Chimney?

He keeps his checklist in a big, red book he carries with him. People portraying Zwarte Piet typically wear blackface make-up, colorful clothes from the Renaissance era, curly-haired wigs, red lipstick, and earrings. This has led to controversy, with critics calling it an offensive racial stereotype reminiscent of the Dutch colonial era. These included scenes of him delivering presents by going down the chimney, riding over the roofs of houses on a horse, and arriving from Spain by steamboat. Today, the Dutch holiday season traditionally begins in mid-November, when Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat at a designated port, then parades through the streets on his horse.

In Belgium, presents are given to children only, but to almost all of them, on Sinterklaas Day. On Christmas Day, everybody receives presents, but often without the help of Sinterklaas. The figure later known as Father Christmas first appeared in Christmas his Masque , a play written by Ben Jonson. He personified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas. Father Christmas was considered controversial in those pre-reformation days after the English Civil War. The government, which was controlled by Puritans, wanted to abolish Christmas and its traditional customs because they considered it a Catholic holiday.

Supporters of King Charles adopted Father Christmas as a symbol of their cause because he represented bountiful feasting and good cheer. When Father Christmas first began showing up in illustrations, he wore many different colored robes, including green, purple, blue, and brown, among others. Santa and Father Christmas are now considered to be the same person, though the Brits do tend to leave out beer or sherry for him rather than milk on Christmas Eve. The German Santa Claus was nearly eliminated for centuries by Martin Luther , the 16th German professor of theology who played a major role in the Protestant Reformation.

Father Christmas - Wikipedia

With his native land divided between Protestants and Catholics, Luther wanted to rid Christmas of all its Catholic customs. Nicholas, he introduced das Christkindl, an angelic Christ Child who would bring gifts to good girls and boys. Eventually this figure was replaced by der Weihnachtsmann Father Christmas in Protestant regions and in the U. There are actually dozens of different names used for the German Santa Claus.

The four most popular names are Weihnachtsmann, Klaus, Nickel, and Niglo, each of which is more popular in a different region of the country. But there are countless other local names, with most more commonly associated with December 6 Niklolaustag , or St. In Germany, his companions are more malevolent characters, with different names in different regions.

Collectively known as the Nikolaus-Begleiter Nicholas Companions , these sinister souls reflect the twisted darkness of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales , which were based on ancient Germanic folklore. The most famous of these St. Nicholas companions is Krampus, a half-goat, half-demon creature with a hideous face, horns, fangs, and a long, pointed tongue.

Legend in the Alpine countries holds that Krampus comes to punish the naughty children. He traditionally appears during festivals on Krampusnacht December 5 , the night before the feast of St. As early as , St. Now, on the night of December 5 or 6, a man dressed as der Heilige Nikolaus who resembles a bishop and carries a staff goes from house to house in small communities in Austria and the Catholic regions of Germany in order to bring small gifts to the children.

A fun fact is that, in , a law was passed in France decreeing that all letters written to Santa would be responded to with a postcard so that when a class writes letters, each pupil gets a response. This fanciful fairy is said to always be accompanied by her donkey, Marion, and to reward good children with gifts and naughty children with nothing but a boot filled with twigs. Apparently the French really have a thing for Christmas donkeys!

There are no presents under the tree for French kids on Christmas Day.

HISTORY OF SANTA CLAUS IN AMERICA

It was Dutch immigrants who originally brought the legend of Saint Nicholas who was known to them as Sinterklaas with them to New Amsterdam, which we now know as New York City. They also brought the Christmas traditions of their homeland, which included giving gifts and sweets to children on December 6, the day of his feast. Nicholas was first used in the American press in He was instead pictured as a big-bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe and a green winter coat.

John Pintard, who founded the New York Historical Society in , also deserves his fair share of credit for making jolly old St. Nick more popular in the US. Nicholas anniversary dinner on December 6, To honor the occasion, he commissioned artist Alexander Anderson to create the first known American image of the saint.