Who is FATHER CHRISTMAS / SANTA CLAUS?
Our British Father Christmas is a combination of the Viking "Old Winter" and the legend of St Nicholas who became known as Santa Claus. The Vikings chose someone to represent Old Winter and he was dressed up, fed and made as welcome as possible in an attempt to appease the gods and bring on a mild winter. This figure later became confused with Santa Claus and they are now considered one and the same. Santa, however, came to Britain from America, where he was introduced by Dutch immigrants. Their "Sinter Klaas" was Saint Nicholas, a Bishop of Myra in fourth century Lycia (in Asia Minor), famed for acts of kindness.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
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