Are Santa Claus and Father Christmas the same?

Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary character originating in Eastern Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts on Christmas Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending on whether they are “naughty or nice”.

Why is Santa Claus not Father Christmas?

The National Trust are right to point out that ‘Father Christmas’ has a greater British pedigree, having first appeared in the mid 17th century, whereas the name ‘Santa Claus’ did not appear for another century (although it is based on the much older Dutch name ‘Sinter Klaas’).

Why is Father Christmas also called Santa Claus?

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York.

Who is the real Father Christmas?

St. Nicholas
The Man Behind the Story of Father Christmas/Santa Claus. St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century, in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money.

What does Santa Claus look like?

As far as I can tell from Christmas decorations, Santa Claus has settled into the popular depiction: a rotund elderly gentleman with glasses; white hair and a long white beard; a red suit, consisting of a short jacket trimmed in white fur with a wide black belt and red trousers; and a floppy red stocking cap, likewise trimmed in white fur.

How would you describe Santa Claus in one sentence?

Santa Claus is described as a big-bellied man with a white beard and a pair of glasses. He is considered as a jolly man that dons a red coat lined with white fur. He travels on a reindeer-driven sleigh and on the midnight of 25 December he delivers gifts and presents to the good children around the world.

What is the origin of the term Father Christmas?

Although originally not addressed as father, a carol attributed to Richard Smart, Rector of Plymtre represents Christmas as “Nowell”, “Sir Christemas” and “my lord Christemas”. Father Christmas is not associated with distributing gifts to the children, but rather he is believed to bring the news of the birth of Jesus Christ.

How did Santa Claus get his name?

Meanwhile, Sinterklaas, whose inspiration was St. Nicholas became known as Santa Claus. Later, poem and story writers merged St. Nick, Kris Kringle and Sinterklaas to form Santa Claus. Because of their similarities, Father Christmas and Santa Claus were further merged together, so that now they are one and synonymous.