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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Father Christmas
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A bearded figure of this name has been attached to Christmas festivities in England since at least the 17C, but in his present form he was imported from the USA in the early 19C. The Dutch in New York had the tradition of Sinterklaas, a corruption of St Nicholas (a saint of the 4C, whose legends include his throwing a golden dowry into the bedroom of three impoverished sisters). Sinterklaas filled the shoes of Dutch-American children with presents on his saint's day, December 6. English-speaking families in New York seem to have adapted this custom to Christmas.
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A poem by Clement Clarke Moore, A Visit from St Nicholas, was published in the USA in 1823 and has all the ingredients of the modern British custom: a stocking put out on Christmas Eve, a sleigh drawn by reindeer arriving on the roof, and St Nicholas, clad in fur, coming down the chimney with a sack of toys. When the poem reached England, its details became attached to the existing figure of Father Christmas (Santa Claus, the usual name now for Sinterklaas in the USA, remains a less common alternative in Britain). The multiple appearance of Father Christmas, in parties, streets or shops, dates from the Edwardian period.
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