Growing up in the US, I only really knew Santa Claus. I would have encountered Father Christmas in one of those children's books I found so alluring -- set in Britain or elsewhere in Europe, probably in the (to me, at least) romantic past. I do have an ornament from my uncle's childhood in the early 1920s that depicts Santa as thin, wearing robes, and looking quite solemn. This is how I think of Father Christmas.
As to the satsuma question, I only encountered the word fifteen years ago or so when I bought a satsuma-scented body wash from the Body Shop. For years afterward I thought "satsuma" was a word from an Eastern language having to do with, I don't know, relaxation and enlightenment. I am ridiculous. :o)
My parents (born early 1940s) both said with utter certainty, "it's a tangerine." "That's the only one we'd heard of," they said. "Satsumas are new-fangled things that came much later."
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Satsumas are also less preferred: my clan swears by clementines.
Personally I like satsumas, too. Too much time in the UK?
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I can see the flavour argument for clementines, but the risk of biting down on an ick!-flavoured seed is so much higher!
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What a repulsive child I was. :-D
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As to the satsuma question, I only encountered the word fifteen years ago or so when I bought a satsuma-scented body wash from the Body Shop. For years afterward I thought "satsuma" was a word from an Eastern language having to do with, I don't know, relaxation and enlightenment. I am ridiculous. :o)
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