Is using "Father Christmas" vs "Santa" a class signifier?

[Flapjacker48]

Upper/upper middle - use "Father Christmas"

Working/lower middle - "Santa"

The "Santa" we use in the UK today is almost an original European export to American and has come back as a tackier and vulgar Santa.

Who cares?

I don't think he minds what you call him ! {fsmile}

My son says Santa, perhaps I should tell him to stop being so working class and call him Father Christmas instead!

In reality, who actually cares! 🤷‍♀️

Genuinely, who gives a shit?

I don't think so, I think it's more of a regional thing. But of course a lot of people seem to think the entire south of England is conpletely middle class... in Norfolk, where I currently live, locals with strong accents who've lived here all their lives tend to say Father Christmas, while Santa seems to be more of an incomer thing.

So many threads looking for “class signifiers”, usually in the most random things.

Well I was born working class, in the north west, in the 70s and it was Father Christmas not Santa. I now live in the south and I would use both Father Christmas and Santa, with no particular leaning either way.

All the best people call him Santy, anyway.

Santa is not an American import, its the other way around. Irish/Scottish/Northern English/Dutch people took Santa Claus/Sinterklaas with them during periods of mass immigration to American

Thank you, finally some sense! Santa Claus comes from a Dutch word.

Where has this obsession with everything being an “American import we don’t want” come from?

Those of us who are really posh still refer to the big guy as St Nick.

All the best people call him Santy, anyway. 😁

We use both interchangeably. He's known as both all over the media so I think that's more of the reason you'd call him that.

*Pigeoninthehouse

Grew up saying father Christmas, from working class background
Santa American import.

This, exactly.

Father Christmas = British
Santa = Americanism that is now popular in the UK*

Its obviously a regional thing, not a class indicator.
Globalisation and the UK adopting a lot of American culture, has made Santa more wide spread.

Not sure why people are so obsessed with class on here.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I’ve always said Father Christmas.

Santa’s an American thing.

This

Genuinely, who gives a shit?

I think you'll find us high class people don't like the low class people using our chosen nomenclature.

Ffs.

Mumsnet is totally obsessed with class. Can't we have a Christmas day break from it?

Lived all over Scotland in my 36 years and never heard anyone use Father Christmas. DD learned it just from Peppa Pig.

I’m working class and have always said Father Christmas as I see him as English and Santa as American.

@SlashBeef

Genuinely, who gives a shit?

People like OP who desperately want to show how 'they and PLU' are clearly better than those who say vulgar Santa .

Oh good, more American bashing.

I live in England and I’m working class / lower middle. I’ve always said Father Christmas and so have my parents

I'm working class and it was always Father Christmas growing up but I now use them interchangeably.

What is it with some people on here and everything being about class

The first time I ever came across "Father Christmas" was going to a boyfriend's house on Merseyside - very non-posh- and asking a couple of pre-schoolers what Santa was bringing them. Looks of total confusion until their mum clarified I was talking about Father Christmas.

@Helendee

I’m working class and have always said Father Christmas as I see him as English and Santa as American.

Or Scottish. Or Irish. Or much of northern England-ish.

I’m a vulgar working class northerner and have always said Father Christmas.
I think it’s a generational thing more than a class thing. The kids all say Santa. You must just be old OP.

Scottish here, everyone I know says Santa, only heard those from down south use Father Christmas. I’m from a solid middle class background as well.

We are Irish and it's a firm Santy in our house, call him Father Christmas and ye would get a quare look!

It’ll be that thing where WC and UC say Santa and only the try-hard MC say Father Christmas. Like what/pardon.