ext_277267 ([identity profile] greengerbil.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] ci5hq2008-12-15 06:20 pm
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And here's a second... and it's a seasonal one!

Around when did people in the UK stop talking about Father Christmas and start calling him Santa Claus? These days Santa Claus is standard, but back in the 60's it was *always* Father Christmas - in the UK, that is! So when did it change?

[identity profile] madmogs.livejournal.com 2008-12-15 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, it was always Father Christmas when i was growing up in the early 80s, but the term Santa Claus was definitely about. That said, my parents were massively old-fashioned, so Santa Claus could have come into use far sooner and I just never noticed..
ext_9226: (shaw2 - snailbones)

[identity profile] snailbones.livejournal.com 2008-12-15 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)


I grew up in London in the 60s, and we used both as far as I remember.

[identity profile] londonronnie.livejournal.com 2008-12-15 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I suspect it's a regional thing - in London we always called him Father Christmas, but my other 'alf (from Geordieland) has always called him Santa Claus.

[identity profile] lisaloveslewis.livejournal.com 2008-12-16 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I grew up here in London from '69 and we always called him Father Christmas but I do remember friends at the same time calling him Santa Claus. I still prefer Father Christmas and cringe when I hear Santa Claus!