I don't like "Santa"!

No, I’m with you. The problem is, Father Christmas and Santa Claus are two separate figures, Father Christmas being an ancient British figure associated with the Yule festival, and Santa Claus ( Saint Nicholas) is a Christian bishop and patron saint of sailors and pawnbrokers, among other things. He’s known as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, and this legend was carried to the US by Dutch settlers and others. (Sorry for the lecture.) I think, though, we’re fighting a losing battle!

I dislike calling Father Christmas 'Santa" as well. It may be an age thing, my young grandchildren have taken to saying Santa but I suspect that's because they are on repeat singing "when Santa got stuck up the chimney"

Not just you! It makes me really furious. It seems both lazy and ignorant. After all, Santa just means saint, and that doesn’t really make sense by itself. As you say, Santa Claus is acceptable.

I’m not worried about Santa Claus and Father Christmas being two separate figures. Like so much of Christmas, it’s an amalgamation of Christian and pagan.

He’s still Father Christmas in our family, but of course the grandchildren hear Santa all the time at school and in the media. When my elder son was three, forty-odd years ago, he encountered the song “When Santa got stuck up the chimney” at playgroup. He had never heard of Santa.

As DoraMarr says, I fear we are fighting a losing battle!

My parents always objected to Santa as well. It's less of a mouthful than Father Christmas. I think Santa has always been more common in Scotland. We never mentioned him either way so any exposure my kids got was via school.

I can’t even remember which version I used growing up or which one my children used most. I didn’t realise people actually cared. The grandchildren are coming round later so I’m going to keep my ears open and see which they say most, seeing as one or other seems to crop up in every other sentence at the moment.

I can’t see that it matters, really, but I’m surprised nobody's been on here yet to blame it all on the Americans!

Dora sort of did Maggie. If it went to the USA with the Dutch settlers and then spread then of course it’s the Americans fault!

I have no problems with the word, it's what's used in our family.
I always thought it derived from the Italian Santa Nicola, who was supposed to be a generous and benevolent man, who provided for the poor and the sick.
Then as has been said, previously, the Americans hijacked him!

Oh dear! I didn’t mean to blame Americans, I was just musing on the names Santa and Father Christmas. The composer of “”when Santa got stuck up the chimney” was English- he wrote for The Goon Show. There probably was some elision of Sinta and Santa- although Italians call Father Christmas “Babbo Natale”, and their traditional Christmas figure is “La Befana”, so that’s even more confusing.

Santa always makes me feel like breaking out into the song " Santo Natale " the old David Whitfield record of many moons ago.
I much prefer Father Christmas though.

'Father Christmas' has never in my experience been in common use in Scotland and is seen as an English (and possibly Welsh) tradition!)
Didn't we have this conversation just a few weeks ago or am I suffering déjà vu?

Always Santa for me. Childhood in Midlands, and the rest here in Scotland. Mum was Scottish, but I can't really remember any of my pals, North or South of border calling 'him' anything other than Santa Claus.

Well my three and half year old granddaughter has thoroughly confused the two - she calls him Santa Christmas

Father Christmas here. Never did like Santa!

Always FC here - I love the grumpy old Raymone Briggs Father Christmas - Blooming cats! Blooming chimneys! #%# weather!!!!

Little Gdd uses both. I believe Santa C was always more general in Scotland, and I once read that FC came into use more after WW1, since Santa Claus sounded too German. Don't know how true that is, but in France he's Pere Noel too, so possibly the same there?

It's always been Father Christmas for me. My granddaughters are being brought up with Santa. Bah Humbug!

Father Christmas here.

As long as “he” leaves me something small and sparkling I do not care what the GC / AC call him ??????

small? I think not

Being brought up in France, we had two entities; Saint Nicolas and Pere Noel/Papa Noel.

Probably from my Scottish origins but Santa Claus for me - not Father Christmas.

Santa Claus in Ireland, not Father Christmas but what I don’t like is when it’s shortened to Santy, which some Irish people say and makes no sense.

Sorry but its Santa for me, as in the man with big white beard ?

It was never father Christmas where I grew up so to me that sounds stuffy.
Santa clause is a fictional childrens character so theres nothing wrong with him having a childish name like Santa/Santy.

Always Santa here in my part of Scotland and I dont really care what other people call him .I remember getting a blackboard and easel when I was about 4 that had written on it with love from Santa ,so its been Santa for my parents generation too