world. It is traditionally opened by two people who each pull on one end of the cracker until it, well, cracks. Merry Christmas!
Father Christmas plus his Sleigh and Reindeers
Father Christmas (In Victorian England he was dressed in a Red Robe– not like the made up american santa with trousers etc.) was originally part of an old English midwinter festival, normally dressed in green, a sign of the returning spring. He was known as ‘Sir Christmas’, ‘Old Father Christmas’ or Old Winter’.
In this earliest form, Father Christmas was not the bringer of gifts for small children, nor did he come down the chimney. He simply wandered around from home to home, knocking on doors and feasting with families before moving on to the next house.
The Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843) is based on Father Christmas. He is described as a large man with a red beard and fur-lined green robe.
Images of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) dressed in red started appearing on Christmas cards in the late Victorian times.
Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com
My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com
The Chinese call Britain ‘The Island of Hero’s’ which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are