To hate the now common usage of "santa"

[Creambun2]

Just this really. Santa is a vulgar Americanism.

What was wrong with father Christmas ffs.

Grandma comes down from Scotland and wants to know what "Santa" has bought the children.

That's because Saint Nicholas (Santa) is the giver of gifts. Father Christmas is the jolly old visitor.

If I say it enough times someone will notice .

Have you not seen the incredibles?

I have and I immediately retract my cake suggestion .

YANBU. Father Christmas here. And, for the record, I don't froth about it or correct my dc or other people about it. But I don't like 'Santa'. To me (mfl teacher) santa is a feminine Spanish or Italian word for saint. Father Christmas is not female.

bubblebubblepop Of course people here would make you feel welcome, I find it generally a very friendly area. But your DC would probably come home from school talking about Santa rather than FC, and if you had a reason to ever say Father Christmas to a locally raised person, they'd probably do a little internal eyebrow raise and think you were trying to be posh.

Is it a regional thing? I'm from the West Midlands and have always referred to him as Father Christmas. Santa sounds too much like Fanta and I don't really like Fanta.

Why all the Father Christmas hate? I grew up on a rough council estate in East London and everyone said it. Never occurred to me that it was stuffy or posh. I’ll admit that I thought Santa was an American term but I use it sometimes these days. I really dislike Santy though.

Never been Father Christmas in Australia. Always Santa.

I grew up in a working class family in the north west of England in a town with lots of people with Irish heritage (including my own family). I called the Christmas gift-giver Father Christmas.

I have brought my children up in a town in the Midlands with lots of people with Irish heritage. They call the gift-giver Mum Santa.

Go figure.

Speaking to my friends locally I say Santa. When talking to my family I say Father Christmas. I am multi talented and can do simultaneous translations .

Always 'Santa Claus' to me too. The only people in Scotland who would say 'Father Christmas' are English toffs who have moved up here.

@Vango

Did you know they aren’t actually the same person ?

I think it's probably more of a regional thing than a class thing

Totally - go into any middle class area in Scotland and ask a preschooler what "Father Christmas" is bringing them and you will get blank expressions. I never heard that term growing up except from my very southern English cousins.

Nope in Scotland we always said Santa, only heard father Christ when we moved south!

Obviously not everyone, other than my granny, who says Father Christmas is like that though. That was the entire point of my post fgs!

Actually, the entire point of your post, fgs was that lots of people say 'Father Christmas' just to appear 'dead classy'. I was disputing that there are lots of people like that kicking around and challenging the implication that middle class people say 'Father Christmas' to keep up appearances. I'm middle class - I learnt to say 'Father Christmas' from my Northern parents.

I'm from London too, Podge, and everyone always said Father Christmas until relatively recently. And not all posh people either.

Apparently if you say Santa you are statistically more likely to put your tree up in November.

The only people in Scotland who would say 'Father Christmas' are English toffs who have moved up here.

Or English people, perhaps?

@ByThePowerOfRa I'm invisible, like Santa Father Christmas.

Actually, the entire point of your post, fgs was that lots of people say 'Father Christmas' just to appear 'dead classy

Eh? No it wasn’t! That^ is the complete opposite of what I was trying to say. For clarity; my point was that when^ people think they’re being dead classy by adopting a certain term, it usually shows and sounds ridiculous. I didn’t comment on how many people who say FC are like this.

I don't like it either, it was always Father Christmas to me growing up (northern, middle class I guess but not posh).

He’s making a list and checking it twice.
Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice
SANTA Claus is coming to tooowwwnnn!!
🎅🏻 🎄

No it hasn't always been santa in Scotland actually

It has in all the places I lived when I was growing up. It's been Santa for over 40 odd years. It's definitely not at Americanism

Grew up in London and it was Father Christmas - I now live in the Caribbean and its Santa. DH is Scottish and says Santa, the kids say Santa.

How sad do you have to be to get worked up about this?

*KittiKat

I married into a Scottish family. I am from deep down South. I always knew the present giver as "Father Christmas". Grandma comes down from Scotland and wants to know what "Santa" has bought the children. Cue children looking at me and wondering who this Santa person is...*

... perhaps you (or your presumably Scottish husband) could enrich the cultural heritage of your children by explaining to them who Santa Claus is, and that it is he who comes down the chimney in Scotland at Christmas.

Podge I don’t have any Father Christmas hate.

What I do have a problem with is people telling me my cultural traditions are vulgar American imports.

@hosta

And my other point was that people do just happen to say it because that’s what they always said.

Are you taking the bit I quoted in the post you take issue with and assuming I wrote that? The first bit about uptight middle class try hates? Because that wasn’t me. I was gently contradicting that, by saying that yes, those people do exist, (they do, sorry. I’ve met them), but not all people who say FC are like that.