Father Christmas Live House Web Cam Feed North Pole, Santa Claus Live

Father Christmas Live House Web Cam Feed North Pole, Santa Claus Live

Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a symbolic figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name (in other languages) exists in several other countries, including France (Père Noël), Spain (Papá Noel), Catalonia (Pare Noel), Brazil (Papai Noel), Portugal (Pai Natal), Italy (Babbo Natale), India (Christmas Father) and Romania (Moş Crăciun). In past centuries, the English Father Christmas was also known as Old Father Christmas, Sir Christmas, and Lord Christmas. Father Christmas is said to wear (these days) a bright red suit but in Victorian and Tudor times he wore a bright green suit.

Father Christmas typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, but was neither a gift bringer nor particularly associated with children. The pre-modern representations of the gift-giver from church history, namely Saint Nicholas, (Sinterklaas), and folklore merged with the English, and later British Isles, character Father Christmas to create the character known to Americans as Santa Claus. Like Santa Claus, Father Christmas has been identified with the old belief in Woden (Odin to the Norse).

In the English-speaking world, the character called "Father Christmas" influenced the development in the United States of Santa Claus, and in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, most people now consider them to be interchangeable. However, although "Father Christmas" and "Santa Claus" have for most practical purposes been merged, historically the characters have different origins and are not identical. Some authors such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, have insisted on the traditional form of Father Christmas in preference to Santa Claus.