DNA search for 'father' Christmas

[Maggy]

Yes you read it right.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4460832.stm

Professor Sykes found about 70% of the men he studied with his own surname had near-identical Y chromosomes. The 70% were all descended from one man who lived in Yorkshire in the 13th Century.

however this bit gave pause for thought

But the technique can also reveal signs of female infidelity, turning up errant Y chromosomes that do not fit in the overall genetic tree for a particular lineage.

[Maggy]

So no one thinks that we might find the 'original' father Christmas?

[danielf]

What an idiot...

AFAIK Santa Claus derives from Saint Nicholas...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_nicholas

More here:

Father Christmas is a well-loved figure in the United Kingdom, and is now interchangeable with Santa Claus, though the two had quite different origins. The term Santa is as widely used and understood by British children as Father Christmas.

Santa is a variant of a European folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas, a bishop from present-day Turkey, who supposedly gave presents to the poor. Originally, this had nothing to do with Christmas, however the Germans had a tradition of giving gifts on Christmas and at some point in history traditions merged. This helped to explain the source of Christmas presents given to children on Christmas Day.

The name is derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas, an intermediate figure between the bishop and the Christmas icon. He forms part of the Christmas tradition throughout the English speaking world as well as in Latin America and Japan.


(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus)

Incidentally, the Dutch still give gifts on the 5th of December (out by one day*), though Christmas is taking over...

* the 5th is supposed to be the bishop/saint's birthday, but it actually is the 6th.