Father Christmas doesn’t sleep on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, but he sleeps like a rock the rest of the time!
His bed is made from birch or pine, just like his magical sleigh, and it’s topped with exotic furs and knitted throws to keep him nice and warm. Santa sleeps next to Mrs Claus, planning ideas for new toys all year.
Santa’s sleeping quarters
Santa’s sleeping quarters are warm and merrily decorated in red, green and white, the traditional Christmas colours.
With the North Pole being close to Scandinavian countries, Santa uses spruce, pine, downy birch and silver birch for his furniture, trees native to Finland.
Many depictions of Santa’s bedroom show his bed as a dark wood species, namely mahogany, but mahogany is native to the USA and Caribbean. Santa Claus uses materials he can get his hands on, so anything in Scandinavia.
 |
| Father Christmas in his house in Lapland, Finland |
The legend of Santa Claus
Legend has it that Santa Claus lives in a cosy residence at the North Pole, where he has a crew of elves making toys. His original elves, Alabaster Snowball, Bushy Evergreen, Pepper Minstix, Shinny Upatree, Sugarplum Mary, and Wunorse Openslae, do all the most important tasks for Santa, like keeping up with who’s nice.
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back centuries to modern-day Turkey, first attributed to a monk named St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was well known for his kindness and good cheer, and it is said he gave away much of his wealth to the less fortunate, especially children.
Nicholas’s popularity was such that it spread, and he became known as a protector of children. By the Renaissance period, Nicholas was the most famous Saint, and it is widely acknowledged that his name spread around the world.
Modern-day Father Christmas
Today, Santa Claus is known in the United Kingdom as Father Christmas, but Father Christmas didn’t start as Santa Claus.
Father Christmas is a British tradition, while Santa Claus is American. Father Christmas appeared in the mid-17th century, predating the American tradition. However, he adorned the red coat of Santa Claus in the 19th century.
The original, British Father Christmas, became Santa Claus around the mid-19th century, ditching the holly on his head for a cap.
The modern-day legend of St. Nicholas comes from America when Sinter Klaas (Nick’s Dutch nickname) first appeared in 1773. It was reported that Dutch people had gathered to pay homage to his death in December.
Santa Claus’s name developed from there, instilling itself in Christian culture (although originating in Eastern Christian culture) across much of the Western world.
The magic of Christmas
As his popularity in America grew, Santa Claus was imported into the UK. He was reimagined as a cheerful older man with a beard to attract children and parents with money to department stores. Santa Claus went from being a legend to a marketing ploy, wrapped up in the magic of Christmas and good cheer.
The legend of Santa Claus hit a fever pitch in America in 1947 with the release of “Miracle on 34 Street.” The film was remade in 1994 with Lord Richard Attenborough and is considered one of the great Christmas classics.
 |
| Richard Attenborough In Miracle On 34th Street Is The Most Believable Santa |
Today, Father Christmas is the most iconic Christmas image, and it will remain that way forever. Like Coca-Cola’s iconic Christmas truck advert, even the world’s most iconic brands have built themselves upon it.
Whatever we call Father Christmas, he dominates most Christmas culture and will probably be with us for the rest of the time. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…
Thank you for reading, and Merry Christmas!