“Last Christmas morning Father Christmas had come home feeling very tired, freezing cold—and more grumpy than ever. He was so fed up that he decided it was time to take a holiday.”
Right from the opening line, it is clear that this is not a story about Father Christmas—or Santa Claus—in the traditional sense. The illustration accompanying the text shows a sort of Santa-like looking older man painting what appears to be a trailer without a reindeer in sight. Of course, the biggest clue lies in the text. It is that phrase “more grumpy than ever” that is of utmost significance. Whether you call him Father Christmas or Santa, “grumpy” is not usually one of the first words that comes to mind. This iconic gift-giving institution is not just grumpy, he is so grumpy that he wants to take a holiday even though from the little that it known about him, he only works one day a year. Then again, there is a lot about the day-to-day systemic process of Christmas that isn’t known.
“At last it was Christmas Eve, and Father Christmas was woken early by his noisy alarm clock.”
And it turns out that the actual system of making all those presents in order for Santa to deliver them is also going to remain a mystery in this biography. Between the opening line and this one, Santa has spent most of his time on a vacation. Under the cover anonymity for as long as possible, he dances to bagpipe music in Scotland wins big at the casinos in Vegas before heading back home to somewhere in England. Next thing you know, it is Christmas Eve and time to deliver the packages. The reader does learn that his Santa suit is dry clean only, but as for how all those toys and games get into his sled—called a “sledge” here—still remains a mystery. The story offers an alternative vision of Father Christmas, but not necessarily an entirely subversive one.
''Come on! We're nearly there now' he shouted, as they flew over London and into the grounds of Buckingham Palace. "Oh, good! Flag's flying—they're in!" He quietly delivered the last two parcels and headed back to the sledge.
Throughout the story, it is quite clear that this is a tale about the British version of Santa Claus. True, he retains physical aspect of the American version including being fat, bearded and dressed in the familiar red suit with the white fur trimming. But he also uses phrases like “bloomin’ Christmas” and addresses his beloved pet cat and dog as “M’deers.” The latter is nice little joke as the appropriate spelling would be “m’dears,” but his cat and dog are like extensions of his reindeer. It is not until the very end of the story, however, that the true depth of his Britishness is revealed. The reference to flag flying over Buckingham Palace and the two parcels alludes to his final delivery of the night being to the Royal Couple. Try as hard as they might, few Americans could possibly buy into the idea that Santa Claus saves his last stop of the night to give gifts to two of the richest people in the world. That is a defining difference between him and Father Christmas.
