The Story of Father Christmas and Santa Claus from Christmas Costume

Christmas is a wonderful party time, full of excitement for young children and over excitement for adults who have not really grown up! For many people this is a special time of profound religious significance and we at www.christmascostume.co.uk could not fail to acknowledge this.

For so many in the western world the Christian festival of Christmas comes to brighten their winter gloom with the promise of love and joy and peace and the practice of feasting, celebrating and sharing of presents.

Since the 4th century a.d. December 25th (just four days after the winter solstice) has been set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ whose story is told in the new testament of the Bible.

Many present day Christmas traditions have their roots in a much older festivities; Christmas-time can be traced back to (amongst many other roots) the Roman tradition of Saturnalia; indeed some of today's excessive indulgences perpetuate aspects of these pagan rites.

However, at the heart of the festival lies the wonder and simplicity of the nativity story. Christians believe it was a birth heralded by angels whose carols fill the heavens and the arrival of an infant born in poverty at whose feet shepherds and Kings bowed in worship.

Later traditions have been added over the past 2000 years as celebrations continue and develop. The bringing in of holly and mistletoe to decorate the home and the church has its origins in Christian Celtic roots. The Christmas tree is a tradition imported from Germany in Victorian times.

Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas, a 4th century bishop whose saint's day is 6th December, was adopted by Christians as the patron saint of Christmas in the 19th century when the theologian Dr Clement Moore wrote the poem based on his character.

For a personal Christmas Message we approached the Reverend Kathy (a Minister in the Cotswolds) for her personal point of view of the importance of the Christmas message for her.

One of my earliest memories is of waking early on a winter's morning to discover an extra weight on my toes - one of my father's socks (Christmas stockings) full of goodies. I would have been about 2 years old and it was Christmas morning.

Throughout succeeding years, having been brought up in a Christian family and eventually becoming a Christian minister, Christmas has continued to be an important annual landmark in the journey of my life.

It saddens me that here in the West the whole season has become so commercialised. Christmas cards and decorations appear in the shops in August and the hype continues until they disappear in the winter sales half way through January. Yet at the heart of the festival of Christmas lies a simple and beautiful story which has been told through the Christian scriptures, through the singing of carols and of course through the re-enactment by small children in the nativity tableau. I have memories of my own stage debut at the age of four dressed as a sparkling angel and even more recent memories of my own two sons adorned in various combinations of curtain material and tea towels magically bringing to life the story of the Christ child, God's own son, born in poverty in a stable because there was no room for him in the inn.

The giving and receiving of gifts is of great importance to my family. The infant Jesus received both the gift of the adoration of shepherds called to the stable by angels and of the temporal gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by kings or magi who travelled from afar guided by a star. So we gather to worship our God and to exchange gifts as a token of love and affection for one another and for Him.

I love to decorate my home with light and colour and in my window I place my carved nativity figures lit by a star to welcome visitors.

Food of course plays a vital part in our festivities. The Christmas table seems to groan under the weight of the feast and there are often echoing groans of satisfaction from those who come to share the festive meal.

So, as over commercialised as Christmas has become in our society I welcome it. I look forward to the celebration of Christmas Eve communion, to the frison of excitement, to the expectation and wonder in the eyes of the children and so much more. For Christmas is not simply a means of brightening the gloom of winter, it comes as a reminder to all mankind that God showed his love for us by sending the gift of his own beloved son as a tiny vulnerable baby … now that's a gift, as they say, to die for.

The Reverend Kathy