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| Christmas Carnivals » Father Christmas » Father Christmas Figure |
Father Christmas Figure |
Santa Claus or Father Christmas figure probably owes its origin to Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra. Saint Nicholas was generally known for his generosity for poor and the deprived. The figure sailed to the American continent in the ship of the Dutch colonists, where he was christened Santa Claus.
There have been various figures of Santa over the years before he finally got his popular image of the portly bearded old man wearing a red overcoat and matching cap. In the olden times, Father Christmas figures were not always shown to be dressed in red robes.
In various illustrations, we find him wearing green and blue overcoats, which are very ornate with broad golden border, a short matching hat and carrying gifts in his hands and in the sack behind his back. The figure of Father Christmas as a jolly and friendly old man, with a small stature but a big heart, emerged through the writings and paintings of the artists during the 1800s. Clement Moore was the first to describe our Father Christmas as the chubby old man, with rosy cheeks, wearing a furry overcoat and hat in his poem, which inspired Robert Weir to paint the first portrait of Santa Claus in 1837. He made Santa wear a short suit and a stocking hat as he puffs at his long clay pipe. Finally it was in 1863, that we get to see Santa more as a real person through the pictures drawn by Thomas Nast. This is the final Father Christmas figure that we now commonly see being used for Christmas accessories and ornaments.
Celebrate this festive season with Father Christmas figure and
Christmas Carnivals and browse through the other links on this site to find out more about your favorite Father Christmas.
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