*̩̩͙Santa Claus has lots of different names 

While here in the UK he's known as Father Christmas or just plain Santa, he is also known as St Nicholas, Kris Kringle, and in France, Pére / Papa Noel. In Germany, he is known as Weihnachtsmann, which simply translates as 'Christmas Man'!

*̩̩͙ He hasn't always worn red 

From the brown bishop's garb on his forerunner St Nicholas to the long green robes inspired by the ghost of Christmas present, Santa has had a few different looks over the years. The red-suited, white bearded figure we know today was popularised in large party illustrations from the 1922 poeam, "A Visit From St. Nicholas", now often known as "The Night Before Chrismas".

*̩̩͙ Did you know?

It was not Coca Cola that created his famed red suit... but their magazine advert featuring him in 1931 permanently cemented this look for the public. 

Toys for every girl and boy in the world would weigh around 90,000 tonnes. It's a good job the reindeer are magical or he'd need about 6 million reindeer to pull his sleigh!

When Santa and his team of elves wrap all the presents to be delivered on Christmas Eve, they need about 1.6 million miles of wrapping paper. Enough to wrap around the world 60 times!

If Santa enjoys a mince pie at every household he visits, that's 374 billion calorie and 33,000 tonnes of sugar. He clearly has a magical metabolism - he'd need to run for about 109,000 years to burn that off!

*̩̩͙In some places, he has a creepy counterpart 

While we're all familiar with the concept (and threat) of ending up on the naughty list, in some parts of Europe, consequences for naughty children are a little more serious. In Austria and neighbouring countries, children may receive a visit from the horned Krampus, while in France, Pére Noe'ls assistant Pére Fouttard may beat them with sticks! Better be good now...

*̩̩͙Meet Mrs Claus

While Santa - or St Nicholas at least - has been around for centuries, Mrs Claus didn't make an appearance until the mid-19th century. She was featured in a short story in 1849 and soon became part of the Christmas furniture. In the poem 'Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride" (Goody being short for 'Goodwife') she asks her husband: Why should you have all the glory of the joyous Christmas story?"

*̩̩͙Did you know?

While the nine reindeer from the famous poem are all male, they're always shown with antlers. But male reindeer shed their antlers before Christmas - so if you see a reindeer with antlers in December, they're female!