Father Christmas

Christmas is the biggest celebration of the year in the UK, which people take very seriously. They start getting ready for the next Christmas as soon as the previous one is finished. All of us are familiar with the main traditions of celebrating Christmas. A tree in the living room, mince pies and Santa coming down the chimney: all are the integral parts of the Christmas experience, yet we seldom stop to ask why. Discussion of the origins of Christmas customs tend to stall with: "Wasn’t it all invented by the Victorians? Or the Germans? Or was it Coca-Cola?" Actually, the story of Father Christmas starts with Saint Nicholas, a bishop who lived in Myra, Asia Minor (what is now known as Turkey) in the fourth century. He had a reputation for giving to the poor and being kind to children. Legend has it that Saint Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the chimney of a poor man who could not afford his daughter’s dowry. The bag fell into a stocking that had been left by the fire to dry. Word soon got out, and when anyone received a secret gift, it was always thought to be Saint Nicholas. An early example of Father Christmas in literature appears in Ben Jonson’s play of 1616, "Christmas, His Masque". An old bearded man enters through the chimney, rather than the door, as this was the entrance for Pagan trespassers such as evil spirits. The Victorians rediscovered the stories of Saint Nicholas and used the legend in poetry and prose. In "A Visit from St. Nicholas", a poem written by Clement Moore in 1822, he flew from house to house in a sleigh drawn by eight reindeer, to fill stockings. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave the lustre of midday to objects below, When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

Thomas Nash drew a series of cartoons of him living at the North Pole, with a workshop for building toys and a large book with the names of naughty and nice children. Saint Nicholas was drawn throughout history in various forms: thin, intellectual and even frightening. It was Coca-Cola’s adverts that created the image of the rotund, jolly, white-haired man we’re all familiar with today. Thank you for reading Perfect English Blog. I hope Santa is good to you this year because you only deserve the best. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.