Father Christmas may be the rosy-cheeked, jolly character who personifies the fun of the festive season, but he’s had to overcome a few setbacks on the way, notes Ian Morton.
A mid-15th-century carol attributed to Richard Smart, rector of Plymtree in Devon, had ‘Sir Christemas’ announcing the birth of Christ and inviting his audience to drink and ‘make good cheer and be right merry and sing with us now joyfully. Nowell! Nowell!’. It is the first documented…
