''Father Christmas'' is a British children's picture book written and drawn by

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

and published by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

in 1973. Briggs won the annual

Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...

from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

, recognising the year's best

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

illustration by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named it one of the top ten winning works, which composed the ballot for a public election of the nation's favourite.

Overview

''Father Christmas'' presents a dramatically different modern interpretation of the character. He may physically resemble a stereotypical vision of a jolly

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

, with his large white beard and red suit, but he couldn’t be more different. This Father Christmas is a down-to-earth working man living in a normal house, with the usual tasks of his delivery on Christmas Eve, who hides his warm heart behind a grumpy, dissatisfied exterior. There is no sign of either Mrs. Claus (apart from a hanging wall picture in one scene) or the elves in this apparently solo operation. Living with him are his cat and dog, and two

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

. While he bumbles and mumbles about his work and life, it is clear he has a deep affection for his animals (he gives his cat and dog presents) and enjoys his work. He comes across as complaining about everything but ultimately loving what he does. The book depicts Father Christmas' deliveries as he deals with a range of unusual residences while taking welcome breaks with food and drinks put out for him. Along the way, Father Christmas talks to only one person, a

milkman Milk delivery is a Delivery (commerce), delivery service dedicated to supplying milk, typically in milk bottle, bottles or cartons, to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a Cowman ...

intended to represent the author's father, Ernest Briggs. Despite his difficulties, Father Christmas completes his itinerary with his last stop being apparently

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. Upon returning home, Father Christmas opens his own presents, of which he grumpily disapproves (apart from a bottle of alcohol from "Fred"). With his work done, however, he grows much more jolly and festive, singing carols in the shower and tucking into his large

Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of t ...

with delight ("Lovely grub!"). Exhausted after his travels, he retires to bed, though not before giving his cat and dog their own presents and wishing the reader "Happy Blooming Christmas!". Coward, McCann & Geoghan published the US edition of ''Father Christmas'' in October (). ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' gave the book a

starred review A starred review is a book review marked with a star to denote a book of distinction or particularly high quality. A starred review can help to increase media coverage, bookstore placement and sales of a book. Outlets that published starred review ...

, signifying remarkable merit. In part, "Briggs projects Santa's day in comic strip sequence and balloon monologue, from his waking from a dream of sun ... You don't have to be British to take to this very human Father Christmas – but it helps to have an open eye for all the throwaway background detail." In a BBC documentary of 31 December 2018, Raymond Briggs said that Father Christmas was partly based on his father as they were both delivery men. He also said that he received a letter of complaint from an American because of one scene in which Father Christmas is sitting on the toilet.

Sequel and adaptation

Briggs completed a sequel, '' Father Christmas Goes on Holiday'', published in 1975 by

in Britain and Coward, McCann & Geoghan in America. The two books were adapted in 1991 as a 25-minute animated film, ''

''. Dave Unwin was the director and

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. Smi ...

was the voice of Father Christmas.''Father Christmas'' (1991)

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

. Retrieved 4 December 2012.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1973 British novels 1973 graphic novels 1973 children's books British graphic novels British children's novels British picture books Christmas graphic novels Christmas children's books Santa Claus in fiction Father Christmas British novels adapted into films Children's books adapted into films Kate Greenaway Medal–winning works Novels by Raymond Briggs Picture books by Raymond Briggs Hamish Hamilton books