* Santa Claus also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and simply " Santa ", is a figure with legendary, mythical, historical and folkloric origins who, in many western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.

Excerpt from Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas ( 1686 ), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England.

Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries outside the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for a figure associated with Christmas.

A similar figure with the same name ( in other languages ) exists in several other countries, including France ( Père Noël ), Spain ( Papá Noel, Padre Noel ), almost all Hispanic South America ( Papá Noel ), Brazil ( Papai Noel ), Portugal ( Pai Natal ), Italy ( Babbo Natale ), Armenia ( Kaghand Papik ), India ( Christmas Father ), Andorra ( Pare Noel ), Romania ( Moş Crăciun ) and Turkey ( Noel Baba ).

In past centuries, the English Father Christmas was also known as Old Father Christmas, Sir Christmas, and Lord Christmas.

Father Christmas is said to wear ( these days ) a bright red suit, but in Victorian and Tudor times he wore a bright green suit.

Father Christmas typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, but was neither a gift bringer nor particularly associated with children.

A traditional figure in English folklore, Father Christmas is identified with the old belief in the Old English god Woden.

In the English-speaking world, the character called " Father Christmas " influenced the development in the United States of Santa Claus, and in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, most people now consider them to be interchangeable.

However, although " Father Christmas " and " Santa Claus " have for most practical purposes been merged, historically the characters have different origins and are not identical.

Tolkien, have insisted on the traditional form of Father Christmas in preference to Santa Claus.

Father Christmas is often said to reside at the North Pole or less commonly, in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland, Finland.

The character continued to appear over the next 250 years, appearing as Sir Christmas, Lord Christmas or Father Christmas, the last becoming the most common.

Franz Boas, one of the pioneers of modern anthropology, often called the " Father of American Anthropology "

He may also be formally addressed as " Your Grace "— or, more often these days, simply as " Archbishop ", " Father " or ( in the current instance ) " Dr Williams ".

It is because of these and other contributions that Antoine Lavoisier is often celebrated as the " Father of Modern Chemistry ".

300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the " Father of Geometry ".

Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and Father Jack Hackett live chaotically together in Craggy Island's parochial house, along with their housekeeper Mrs Doyle, who often wants to serve them tea.

The show revolves around the priests ' lives on Craggy Island, sometimes dealing with matters of the church but more often dealing with Father Ted's schemes to either resolve a situation with the parish or other Craggy Island residents, or to win games of one-upmanship against his arch-nemesis, Father Dick Byrne of the nearby Rugged Island parish.

Nowadays he is often called Santa Claus but also often referred to in Britain as Father Christmas: the two names are synonyms.

In Europe, Father Christmas / Santa Claus is often said to reside in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland Province, Finland.

" Father Christmas " is often synonymous with Santa Claus.

The gospel gives far more focus to the relationship of the Son to the Father than the other gospels and it has often been used in the Christian development and understanding of the Trinity.

Father – son incest is reported less often, although it is not known whether the prevalence is less because it is under-reported by a greater margin.

Old Catholics often refer to the Church Father St. Vincent of Lerins and his saying: " We must hold fast to that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all the Faithful.

In Spanish and Italian, " Beatísimo / Beatissimo Padre " ( Most Blessed Father ) is often used in preference to " Santísimo / Santissimo Padre " ( Most Holy Father ).

Petrarch is often called the " Father of Humanism ".

Stephen F. Austin, often referred to as the " Father of Texas ," died on December 27, 1836, after serving just two months as the republic's secretary of state.

Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein ( 23 January 1898 – 11 February 1948 ), né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the " Father of Montage ".

He is often called the " Father of Taxonomy ".

Father Christmas appears in many English-language works of fiction, including Robin Jones Gunn's Father Christmas Series ( 2007 ), Catherine Spencer's A Christmas to Remember ( 2007 ), Debbie Macomber's There's Something About Christmas ( 2005 ), Richard Paul Evans's The Gift ( 2007 ), C. S.

Tolkien Encyclopedia compares Tolkien's Father Christmas with L. Frank Baum's Santa Claus, as he appears in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus:

“ And that Christ being Lord, and God the Son of God, and appearing formerly in power as Man, and Angel, and in the glory of fire as at the bush, so also was manifested at the judgment executed on Sodom, has been demonstrated fully by what has been said .” Then I repeated once more all that I had previously quoted from Exodus, about the vision in the bush, and the naming of Joshua ( Jesus ), and continued: “ And do not suppose, sirs, that I am speaking superfluously when I repeat these words frequently: but it is because I know that some wish to anticipate these remarks, and to say that the power sent from the Father of all which appeared to Moses, or to Abraham, or to Jacob, is called an Angel because He came to men ( for by Him the commands of the Father have been proclaimed to men ); is called Glory, because He appears in a vision sometimes that cannot be borne ; is called a Man, and a human being, because He appears arrayed in such forms as the Father pleases ; and they call Him the Word, because He carries tidings from the Father to men: but maintain that this power is indivisible and inseparable from the Father, just as they say that the light of the sun on earth is indivisible and inseparable from the sun in the heavens ; as when it sinks, the light sinks along with it ; so the Father, when He chooses, say they, causes His power to spring forth, and when He chooses, He makes it return to Himself.

In RV 1. 89. 4b, Pitar Dyaus meaning the " Father Sky " appears alongside Mata Prithvi " Mother Earth ".

Father Time is an established symbol in numerous cultures, and appears in a variety of art and media.

In some cases, he appears specifically as Father Time, while in other cases he may be a character ( such as Saturn ) demonstrating the attributes from which Father Time has derived over time.

* Father Time appears on the Presidential Seal of the Actuaries Institute.

* Father Time appears as a recurring character in The Smurfs voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.

* Father Time appears as one of the main characters in Histeria!

* Father Time appears in The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause portrayed by Peter Boyle.

* Father Time appears in the television special Rudolph's Shiny New Year voiced by Red Skelton, who also narrated the special.