Secondary Research

T'was the Night Before Christmas - 1974

Nightmare Before Christmas - 1993

The Grinch - 2000

White Christmas - 1976

Holiday Inn - 1942

Elf - 2003

Miracle on 34th Street - 1947

A Christmas Carol - 2009

I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus - 2002

The Polar Express - 2004

Scrooge - 1988

We used quite a lot of achieve footage in our documentary for example, White Christmas, The Snowman Irn Bru advert and Wham-Last Christmas.

Who is Father Christmas/St. Nicholas?

Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, which explains his other name 'Santa Claus' which comes from the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.

How did Christmas Start?

Since about 400 AD, Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus. 'Christ' means 'Messiah' or 'Anointed One' - the title given to Jesus - and 'Mass' was a religious festival.
In the West today, the real meaning of Christmas is often forgotten. It has become a non-religious holiday! More children believe in Father Christmas than in Jesus. Christmas Day is a time for eating and drinking too much and watching television.
But the real Christmas story is found in the Christian Bible. It is told in two different books: Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2. If you have no Bible, you can read these chapters online. You may think that the story of the birth of Jesus, and the way that the West celebrates Christmas today, do not seem to have many connections.