ENGLAND's Father Christmas vs USA's Santa Claus: What You Don't Know // Are They Different?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ธ.ค. 2021
- Welcome to this special holiday edition of the Girl Gone London channel. I've done way too much research and analysis of Father Christmas vs Santa Claus and I'm taking you along with me for the journey!
Are Father Christmas and Santa Claus the same? Where did they come from? Let's find out!
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What names do you have for the bringer-of-gifts at Christmas?!
Father Christmas, DPD, Hermes and Royal Mail 😂
@@timelord5920 lol
Amazon
Blooming, usually pronounced "blumin", is a polite euphemism for "Bloody".
No one
Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, but Father Christmas lives in Lapland. How could anyone possibly confuse the two? 🎅😁 (... except that Father Christmas now actually appears to live in "Santa Claus Village" in Rovaniemi, Finland! 🤔)
Good video, a lot of effort gone into research. From my own perspective I see Father Christmas as wearing a long coat/robe whereas I see Santa as wearing the more US style jumpsuit whilst essentially representing the same person.
My mate swallowed some Xmas decorations.
He got tinsellitis. 😸🇬🇧🇺🇸
This made me laugh so much!
I’ve worked as a professional Father Christmas for about 8 years now. I find increasingly the older adults such as the grandparents call me FC but the children and the younger parents always call me Santa. I answer to both and consider the names interchangeable these days. Though listening to your video about how he is perceived in the US, I’m convinced I am definitely a product of my English upbringing. My Santa is bumbling, forgetful and always reminds the parents to “leave a drink out. Don’t pour it, just leave the bottle and I’ll sort myself out.’
One other thing I learned from a man that used to bring live reindeer to some of the events I worked at, was that reindeer can’t digest carrots. It’s not something they encounter in the wild and makes them ill.
I wondered about that. Bread isn't good for birds, either, but even with best intentions, in our ignorance of wildlife, we give animals all kinds of things they shouldn't eat. Rabbits also don't dig carrots up from the ground. They eat greens. So it's best not to give kids the idea that any herbivore can eat just any plant, any more than humans can. If people want to have their kids leave something out for the reindeer, they should do a quick search on some reliable website or library book or encyclopedia to find out what reindeer actually eat. Thanks for including that info in your post!
"Reindeer can’t digest carrots. It’s not something they encounter in the wild and makes them ill." Since that's important info, I thought I'd paste it into the beginning of a comment, so more people will see it!
The idea of Father Christmas wearing a crown of some sort and expensive robes goes back to the medieval "Lord Of Misrule" (reintroduced in England by Henry VII, the first Tudor king, where some minor functionary in a lord's manor or at court would be assigned to oversee the Christ's Mass festivities, part of which would be a role reversal, so the lowliest servant would become the lord for the day and the lord would be the servant. So Xmas movies that use a time-shift or body-swap theme are in fact just echoing this very old tradition.
Agree with you my experience in Scotland was to have Santa Claus coming to deliver presents. Maybe due to Christmas not being such a big thing in Scotland until fairly recently 1958 it was not a public holiday. Hogmanay and New Year were the big celebration
Fellow Scot here and Xmas was always a big thing in our house and in everyone else I knew houses too. It was the fun time for children (and some adults) and Hogmanay was the fun time for adults (and some kids). It was always Santa Claus for us too. At least from the early 70s onwards.
What exactly is hogmanay? I was told it was what the Scottish people called Christmas.
My pet peeve at Christmas is all the merchandise says Santa rather than Father Christmas.
You literally can't buy anything with Father Christmas on. So less and less children use the phrase Father Christmas, purely because they read Santa everywhere.
70 year old Geordie hear. As a child, Father Christmas, his reindeer and the elves would deliver nice presents if you were on the 'nice list' but if you were on the 'naughty list' then you would get lumps of coal. The name Santa was totally interchangable but mostly used to refer to his helpers who dressed up to meet the kids in the fairs and stores.
Im a 45 year old English-man and have always said Santa Claus. I think it can depend on where your from in the UK. More people say Santa in the North East of England where im from and you'd hardly ever hear someone with my accent say Father Christmas..Santa just sounds a lot better in my opinion as well lol....Plus a lot of people saying they say Father Christmas would also probably say Santa's Grotto, Santa Hat or Santa's Reindeer than the other.
Blooming is a euphemism for “bloody”, so Briggs's Father Christmas is actually saying “another bloody Christmas”, but it is bowdlerized for the tinies. Father Christmas traditionally wears a green robe, not a red jumpsuit, and he is very particular not to deliver presents to children who do not deserve them. Of course he won't welcome milk and biscuits. They will not keep out the cold. Any good child will leave a tumbler full of decent brandy. He isn't a saint. He's not religious, even, so anyone can join in the seasonal festivities. “Santa Claus” obviously does not exist.
I'm a brit, I say Father Christmas
I'm anticipating 45C here for Christmas 🎄 😎 I live 240 kilometres north of Adelaide
That is only in England. In Scotland he is Santa or St Nicholas.
Kalynn! Have you ever watched the comedy film Arthur Christmas??!! If not….. YOU MUST!!! it’s soooooo funny! Father Christmas is knackered, his sleigh no longer works properly and he is merely a figurehead as all the big Corporations have taken over - but who’s going to do his job now?? …. Cue the film! It’s an Ardman Animation classic - and has a British cast doing the v/o’s … snuggle up with a mince pie and a mug of mulled wine and watch…. It will make you laugh and cry 😄
Oooh, it's on the must-watch list, thanks!!
I remember a shopping centre here in the UK where you could visit Santa's Grotto to meet Father Christmas....... fusion!
I think you are right they must be two people. One person would never get the blooming work done in time!
We still celebrate Sinterklaas but takes place on the 5th of December.
The earliest personification of Christmas is in a carol attributed to Rector Richard Smart of Plymtree in Devon circa 1450 in which there is a dialogue between 'Sir Christmas' and a group welcoming him. Later there appeared 'Captain Christmas', 'The Christmas Lord', 'Prince Christmas' and of course 'Father Christmas'.
couple of weeks ago i watched an American Christmas movie called "Finding Father Christmas" where the plot was a woman trying to locate her father through an old picture , Which eventually traces it to New England in which that part of the world a couple of generations ago still referred to him as Father Christmas .
We used to write our letters to Father Christmas and send them up the chimney and run outside to see if we could see them go. We had stockings at the bottom of our beds for our presents the usual orange,sweets and pennies. Oh the good old days when you couldn't get to sleep because of excitement and then you were awake laying in bed listening for him coming.
That just about summed up my childhood Christmas. Hope you and yours have a great one.
Me too
Born in the fifties, here in Northumberland we always called him "Santy". Still do.
The Muppets Christmas Carol's version of the Spirit of Christmas Present is very much a traditional Father Christmas.
"You can't fool me, there ain't no sanity clause" (with apologies to Groucho, Chico and Harpo..)
very well put together , there is a case of father christmas envolving from the green man
Yes, Christianity absorbed pagan festivals to make it more culturally acceptable to converts. Yule became Xmas. Easter has just about kept its name.
I think this illustrates a more subtle difference...
Many Americans don't really get titles, appointments & names are not the same thing.
You have President Biden.
We have The Prime Minister, who is Mr Boris Johnson currently, or The Right Honourable Boris Johnson if we are addressing him formally in his role as PM.
As a child growing up in the 90s, I used the while Father Christmas/ Santa Claus interchangeably. When writing down i preferred saying "Santa" as it was easier to spell.
We'd leave out a mince pie and a glass of sherry when I was a kid along with a carrot that apparently 8 Reindeer shared between them.
So, Father Christmas and his other European variations are modern incarnations of old pagan ideas about spirits who traveled the sky in midwinter. You've got to remember that the majority of Christian festivals (Christmas, Easter etc) are all twisted versions of older beliefs that the Romans supplanted with their religious stories as they swept through Europe circa 30-40AD to convert the local populace and make them more managable, even to the point that they were destroying sites of worship for local pagans (I hate that word btw) and building churches in their stead.
Although we do have Christmas day for the kids, especially the boy, who's only nine, Solstice is our preferred celebration. A true Festival of Light.
Whatever beliefs you hold dear, I wish you well during the upcoming festive period. Love and light to you all
This story is interesting and most enjoyable to learn about Christmas culture so we can appreciate how we love Christmas 🤶
In an old Marx Brothers movie Graucho & Chico were going through the clauses in a contract the final clause was the deal breaker - Gaucho described it as a regular sanity clause - Chico ripped it up & declared "everybody knows there ain't no sanity clause " 😊 Merry Christmas all !
Loved this video. Shows how ignorant I am of our Father Christmas 🎅
Thank you so much!
I like video, it is very interesting about Father christmas/ Santa Claus.
At the start, you sounded like you were summarizing a wiki article 😉. In our house, we provide refreshments in the form of an alcoholic beverage (preferably whisky), a mince pie, and an organic carrot for the reindeer. BTW: Do you use „Xmas“ in the US? FYI: In the last meeting before Xmas, I used to show my former team how NORAD tracked Father Christmas live on Christmas Eve on the internet. My Chinese team members had a hard time understanding that...
Thanks for watching! I forgot to mention mince pies, great one! We do use Xmas in the US as shorthand. I love that tracker!
That was a well-constructed video, so thanks for the interesting comparison. I know you have to be wary about whether you go with England or Britain etc, but the latter is definitely more appropriate with regard to this topic! 🙂 I'm definitely in the Father Christmas camp!
Great video, I totally agree with alot of the comments in that although when I was a child we always referred to him as Father Christmas the Santa title has definately gathered momentum and we now interchange the names.
I really wanted to say that I had no knowledge of the Dr Seuss story books when I was younger but that my daughters who are now in their 20's absolutely adored (and infact still do) all his characters and this has rubbed off on me! This Christmas we are introducing my young grandsons to The Grinch and this will no doubt be followed up with The Cat in the Hat and more ( one fish, two fish etc) all along with our favourite new and traditional story book characters! 🤣😍
Welcome back. By the way Who looks after Santa when he's ill? The National Elf Service
Thanks! That made me laugh!
Ho ho ho
Father Christmas always wears a seatbelt because he is very into ‘elf and safety.
This is a great, comprehensive comparison/history of Santa/St. Nick/Father Christmas. I learned a lot about Father Christmas!! We always leave milk and cookies for Santa, but my son has always left 9 (8+Rudolph) mini carrots. 😁
Thanks so much Anna! Love that your son looks after the reindeer too!!
Hiya. Such a wonderful video. Have a great Christmas and New Year's celebration, stay safe and all the best to you.
6:56 "An anonymous Christmas poem?" The reindeer & sleigh came from the Clement Moore poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas." At this time, Santa was still considered an elf, not the human-sized person we know now. Hence the "miniature sleigh & 8 tiny reindeer," & his ability to easily go up & down chimneys. You don't even mention, "Twas the Night Before Christmas," even though that poem had a huge impact on the lore of Santa (forever associating him with rooftops, chimneys, & flying reindeer pulling a sleigh).
An excellent analysis of Father Christmas/Santa.
Lovely video, congratulations on your citizenship and merry Christmas 🎄
In Scotland we leave out biscuits and milk for Santa/St Nicholas. He is never called Father Christmas here.
Worth mentioning that sprouts often served with bacon and/or chestnut.
We left a glass of sherry for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve.
Lovely video. Well done. Well researched and presented. You seem more relaxed that usual.
Thanks so much for watching! Feel much more relaxed than before!
What a fantastic explanation of the origins of Father Christmas/Santa Claus. Very interesting. Always been Father Christmas for me,. Two girls always ensured that a glass of Port was left out. Three guesses who drank it.
A search at British Newspaper Archive gives similar number of results for Santa Claus as for Father Christmas from 1880 to 2000. That's not including references to just 'Santa'. Father Christmas skews towards England and Wales, and Santa towards Scotland and Ireland. Results suggest Yorkshire was Santa leaning too.
i had NO idea they were two different figures! i have always used the names interchangably, this is fascinating!
Really interesting video, and the idea of Father Christmas and Santa Clause having duel had me laughing out loud. Many thnaks 👍
Really well researched and interesting discussion! 👏
Thank you for watching!!!
@GirlGoneLondonofficial Australia has many of its own words it borrows from Britain America too . We say Santa
Fun fact. Scotland didn't until 1958 start regarding Christmas (25th dec) as a holiday.
Excellent! BTW Coca Cola were the first to show Santa wearing red in their adverts on their bottles.
Our santa when I was much younger never broke in a he had a key that the fairy on our tree gave him
This was so interesting!! I thought Santa Claus and Father Christmas were interchangeable. As an American I was horrified to find out my first Christmas in England that children are told to leave alcohol out for Santa 😂😂
Horrified… oh dear!
Haha! The British often use sarcasm in speech and Americans use exaggeration. So no, maybe not horrified but I was very surprised as Christmas in the US is very kid centric and would never involve alcohol!
Father Christmas became even more commercial when Coca Cola used him in the thirties to push their drink. Although he had worn Red before then his red cheeks and persona were popularised. He did get a good kick back from the company and he would argue it hurt nobody and just helped with money to modernise his sleigh etc. I remember being happy in the Sixties calling him Santa or Father Christmas and he used to call and deliver the presents on Christmas Eve. Interesting that the red breast Robin also used the same Advertising Agency in Victorian times to push their image on Christmas Cards that were not popular before then. The poor Christmas Turkey are still trying to reverse their image.
As far as kids are concerned you can call him what you like as long as he's bringing presents 😉
Santa and Father Christmas were interchangeable when I was an ankle biter and growing up, since moving to Ireland a few years ago he is more often known as Santa or Santé.
When my children were young the wife and I always left out a glass of Whisky and one of Vodka for Mrs. Claus, a couple of mince pies and a carrots,6, for the Reindeer, before the children went up. All that remained in the morning were the empty glasses and some crumbs on the carpet, the carrots had gone back to the kitchen.
I hope you are giving that tree plenty of water otherwise there will be a needlefest on the floor.
loving your vids , fae S.W.Scotland to you and yours ,have a great Christmas , a fantastic HOGMANAY & a fan dabbie dozzie 2022
Great video
In uk the idea is not to get Father Christmas drunk, he has a tot of brandy. We never left alcohol out we left milk, mince pies & carrots. It differs in each household depends on the adults taste who drinks and eats them
In Wales we have Sion Corn - literally ‘Chimney pot John’
The difference between Britain/Europe and America at Christmas is that Britain and Europe celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ whereas America just celebrates the commercialisation of Santa Claus.
Welcome to the UK, you're very welcome
Love all the video's. And your beauitful xxx
i was born in the eary sixties and grew up calling him Father Christmas, but always considered the two names interchangeable. Something you didn't mention is the influence of Prince Albert (maybe ther wasn't any but) Prince Albert is often credited with adding German traditions into the UK including Christmas Trees, did he also help to Santafy it? Personally there being no need to change the names of things here to fit in with the US is something I wish was actually practiced, we tin our foods here not can them yet the only UK supermarket I can think of that has a tinned food aisle is (the until recently American owned) Asda all the others have canned foods WHY? and on and on.
Have a blooming wonderful Christmas. And don't forget to leave Father Christmas some port and carrots for the reindeer's.
Wow. That was so good I’ll watch it again and put my memory hat on.
In the UK Father Christmas or Santa Claus. No child cares whichever!
I never knew Americans didn't call him Father Christmas. Also I have known some leave out a can of Stella for the big man. No wonder he only works one day a year.
Great watch, loved it. I was born in the mid sixties, so it has always been Father Xmas. We used to leave him a sherry and mince pie, plus a carrot for Rudolph. My dad later in life told us now grown kid’s that, when he used to come in with my mam after been in the pub all night, that left sherry was always a struggle to drink it and keep it down. The mince pie went back in the box.😂😂🎅☃️
Thanks so much for watching! Your dad's story is so funny - our cookies that were left out always just had a bite taken out of them so either the Santa at my house showed great self restraint or also really didn't need more Christmas food!
Well I think you got that pretty much spot on, other favourites here is stollen cake, must mention gravy, alcohol spiked coffee, mulled wine and I think that has it covered.
As for me I would prefer steak and chips but I get out voted every year ☹️ nice Chanel keep it up👍🇬🇧
Thank you; that was really really informative. I'm English and did not know a lot of this. Okay, going to insist on Father Christmas this year... and here was me wondering how i was going to start an argument around the Christmas dinner table... Ho Ho Ho!
Glad I could help add some drama to your Christmas dinner table. ;) Merry Christmas!!
Interesting. I grew up in the Northeast of the US, and we always left both milk & cookies for Santa, but also some carrots for the Reindeer too. I don't know if we were strange, or New England just has more "English" traditions than other parts of the US. Now that I"m in London, Christmas does feel more homey than it did on the west coast.
England 🏴 or Britain or the UK 🇬🇧 ?
Father Christmas. My grandmother called him old man Christmas 😊
Before I watch the rest….stuffing is called STUFFING because we STUFF it up the Turkey…we then STUFF….meaning (STUFFING) things UP the bird.Stuffing including SAUSAGE MEAT up the BIRDS ARSE and onions. Good luck. Btw we don’t leave carrots out we may First foot though.
As a scot it’s always been Santa for me
Fascinating video. I use Santa/Father Christmas interchangeably. But have found Father Christmas is making a comeback.
I think Father Christmas was more of a middle class/upper class thing
Father Xmas lives in Lapland. Not the North Pole aswell. And letters to Santa are burnt in the fireplace and father Xmas reads it in the smoke
As a Scotsman I use both terms as they are interchangeable
Interesting!
YOU MEAN THERE REALLY ISN'T A FATHER CHRISTMAS? DAMN!!!!! Robert, 73, UK.
Carrots for the reindeer and a stiff drink for Father Christmas (for medicinal purposes)!
An influence on Christmas in Britain was Charles Dickens . (You may have heard ofHim and the creation of childhood.. a social development not one-of mr Dickins’ ideas are influences on the development of Father Christmas and the “festive Season”in theUk.
I think the merge and the modern day Santa/Father Christmas started in 1923 due to Coke adverts.
I am wondering what is left in the American version in the Father Christmas film because I recall it being entirely about him drinking and grumbling!!!
American Santa carries a gun
"In the 15th Century he was there for the adults at Christmas, which in the UK basically meant drinking"....
...nothings changed there then...
True!!
Am soooo curious, do American's have a concept of Scrooge, as over here we love the old rogue .... :-)
In Belgium they have Sint Maarten and Black Piet bringing gifts for children on 10th November the same in Holland, I saw Sint Maarten and Black Piet in Ieper a number of years ago while making my way to The Menin Gate Memorial. Belgium and Holland have being heavily criticised for having someone paint his face black, they say it is traditional. While staying in Ieper at the Ariane Hotel I got a chocolate statue of Saint Marten in either dark, milk or white chocolate, they can be bought in chocolate shops. Belgium still have the usual Christmas like we do with Father Christmas. Father Christmas lives in Lapland and trips are arranged for kids to visit him there. It is normal to leave a mince pie and alcohol as well as a carrot for the reindeer I remember seeing it before heading to bed when I was younger.
The Big Man in Red!!
Hi, I’ve just discovered your channel which I find very interesting comparing American culture to British culture. I’m Welsh and go to Florida quite often so am familiar with several aspects of what you are discussing. My only criticism is you keep referring to England rather than Britain. In my opinion we are a united nation but I live in Wales not England. On a side note I really wish the government would also see us as a united nation and have the same rules for England and Wales regarding Covid restrictions it’s really confusing. Loving your videos. Sue
Fellow Celt from Scotland here and I agree we should have UK/Britain wide rules and laws (though some Scottish laws are better; like house purchases, no gazumping allowed there or penalties ensue).
@@Thurgosh_OG The Scottish Nationalists don't want to be part of the UK and therefore go out of their way to differentiate laws and rules whenever they can.
Yucatan CA 💙
Father Christmas
December 29th is my birthday happy
Interesting video but can we all agree to ban the term "character of Christmas" ? ;)
Oh and it's father Christmas but wouldn't seem out of place to hear Santa.
It's only crossed my mind that Santa Claus is actually American despite that term often being used in the UK 😂
But yes we call him Father Christmas 🤶
He is never called Father Christmas in Scotland.
What about Mary Christmas?
Good morning you are talking about yeah I am Santa Claus
Ah the King of misrule, children were more like small adults. Only during Victorian era was the notion that Christmas was for children. Old pagan ceremony, for all, back in the day.
Nothing wrong with being merry lol
I was brought up to call him Father Christmas and this is what I passed on to my son. Although as a fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, I prefer the term TheHogfather lol.
Seriously though, I'm surprised you didn't cover the whole list making thing- why does Santa make a list of the naughty and nice? By European tradition, St Nick would travel in the company of a demon-like creature called The Krampus. This being would spirit away all the naughty children, leaving St Nick/Santa to distribute favours or gifts to those fortunate enough to remain.
Hogfather always seemed to be to be a combination of Hogmanay and Father Christmas.
TH-camr UsefulCharts has a video: "Evolution of Santa Claus".
Another difference is that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, while Father Christmas lives in Lapland - where reindeer actually come from!!!
Well, if your aim was to make a fool of yourself, you failed. That was too much like real scholarship to be fool. A fascinating and well researched exposition!
Thanks so much Roger! I enjoyed doing the research and hope to do more!