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.

I use Father Christmas and my husband uses Santa! I am working class and British, he is middle class but American.

By the by my DS says Santa Christmas which I quite like

Santa: American import.

But you should really stop obsessing about class...

Oh god, not this again!!

Has always been Santa in Scotland, certainly as far back as my grandparents being children a century ago.
It's not class it's geography!

As a Scot I have never said Father Christmas and no one I know has either.

NE England and South Scotland in this house and always FC.

@Astrak

Could anyone please explain why such differences are important? It seems to be totally unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

It’s important for people like the OP who like confirmation that the value-free term for something they happen to use actually has value as a social class shibboleth that separates off People Like Us from the socially unacceptable.

Santa: American import

You: not well read.

I might change my username to TackierAndVulgarSanta.

Grew up in a notorious slum area, left school at 15 to work in a shop. Always said Father Christmas so I don't think that has magically transformed me into the middles classes.

To me he’s Deda Mraz (grandfather frost) as I’m one of those classless foreign types, and Santa to my husband, who is even worse as one of those yanks.

Seriously, does it matter?

@Hospedia

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.

I'm from NE England, he has always been Santa and even Santy.

They ARE different personages though. I'm German myself, lived in the Netherlands for several years. Both countries still gave their separate Santa Claus tradition centered on St Nicholas Day, i.e. December 6. I think for Dutch kids that's actually is the main present-giving occasion, rather than Christmas. In Germany, kids put a boot outside the door Dec 5 and it's filled with mandarins, nuts, maybe some sweets overnight.

Father Christmas is separate figure and actually comes for Christmas, along with a servant who carries the presents and also (traditionally) punishes naughty kids. Although parts of Germany have a separate tradition where it's the Christmas child bringing presents - I may be getting things mixed up, but believe that's more of a Catholic custom.

Whatever you call him, he’s got nowt in his sack for people who sow the seeds of division and look down on others.

@EishetChayil

I might change my username to TackierAndVulgarSanta.

You're a woman of worth!

@EishetChayil

I might change my username to TackierAndVulgarSanta.

This year’s ‘Snapped and Farted’

Santa is an americanism.
I grew up saying ‘father christmas’ and my family is Irish/London working class.

Oh it’s not an Americanism? Interesting! Either way... it’s not a class thing..

Scottish.

I mean Santa is also Scottish.

I use Father Christmas because I'm an atheist and don't believe in saints.

And I grew up in a council flat on the roughest estate in Croydon, so I don't think I'm middle class!

I use both. Not sure what that makes me on the class scale. Do I care? No.

However we don’t do Santa/ Father Christmas in our house (7 year old has NEVER believed despite us trying to encourage it) so it doesn’t really matter.

Sheng dan lao ren

In Cantonese for you all.

What a load of nonsense. What is it with some posters on mumsnet, and this obsession with class? FFS.

And the OP who says 'Santa is soooo working class' NEVER says 'Santa' of course, because she is sooooooooooo middle class.

Bore off @Flapjacker48 with your goady guff. And as a few posters have said, SO many people have already posted about this stupid subject. So you're not remotely original - or clever.