Who is Father Christmas?
Father Christmas and Santa Claus seem to have originated in separate traditions although they're now universally seen as the same.
Santa Claus started out as St Nicholas and delivered presents to people who were in need; a saint in the timeless tradition of redistribution of wealth.
Father Christmas was a much later development of the early Victorian era in England. I remember as a child we were told, we had to be good. It seems this character was used by parents to instill a little discipline. Be good or you won't get any presents.
Here is a well known example of Santa Claus playing this role. I think this version with Bing Crosby and the Andres Sisters is amongst the best.
Today Father Christmas plays a rather different role to the one he played during my 1950s childhood. We hear virtually nothing about Christmas being a time for redistribution. We hear little about being good. Presumably, not awarding the bad child is not good for profits. Father Christmas' role has subtly changed during my lifetime. What is the difference between the story he tells today and the story told 50 years ago? How do we account for it?
Is this another rant against Christmas?
I must confess I have a lot of sympathy with those who would campaign against Christmas. Christmas is excessive and smug. The delight children take in it is worthwhile but we do not need the connivance of the money men. Our children's pleasure is essential to the economy, wouldn't you know?
However, campaigns against Christmas make no discernible difference. The social forces are too strong. Commerce is onto a good thing, working with the grain. However, my point is not to make comments about how dreadful Christmas is but to explore how this specific example of idolatry actually works.
A Unique Instance of Idolatry
Indeed, this instance of idolatry is unique. There is no other idol that has a comparable grip on public consciousness as Father Christmas. Father Christmas is material and universal. How does this image maintain its hold upon us as a society, a hold to the extent that no-one seems able to see what Father Christmas is?
The history helps us trace the development of this image over centuries. Was he always an idol? Probably not but by the turn of the last century he was worked into the world of commerce and that is from where his image gets its significance.
I have no idea whether anyone has researched this or made these points before. It seems a valuable opportunity to gain insights into the way our modern society works. On the way we may identify other idols and certainly learn of the hold modern idols have over us. If we want to know why we're so helpless as a society in the face of climate change and numerous other intractable problems, this may be the explanation we are seeking.
Comments