'Santa is now seen as gender-neutral,' claims mom shamed on Facebook

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The war on Christmas just took a bizarre turn.

A viral Facebook post caused a festive controversy on the social media platform when a mom claimed that she received backlash for not using a “gender-neutral” term for Santa Claus, sparking a heated debate.

An unamed mother from England spoke with a local news outlet, describing how she was shamed on Facebook for saying "Father Christmas" instead of a gender-neutral term. (iStock)

The story originates from an unnamed mom in Plymouth, England, who claims that she was shamed on a Facebook group after referring to Santa Claus as Father Christmas, the Plymouth Herald reports. The woman told the outlet, “Santa is now seen as gender-neutral. I was only referring to the book ‘Father Christmas’ by Raymond Briggs, but it’s left me a little confused/on edge about what we are aloud [sic] to say.”

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While the original post (or the responses) have not been publicly revealed, users on Facebook were still quick to respond to the alleged shaming.

In response to a post about the story, one user replied, “Seriously! He's a guy, quite clearly a guy. I would have bitten back by calling him St Nicholas to be honest. The clue's in the name, Nicholas not Nicola.”

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Another user, once again replying to a post about the story, complained, “I would love to meet these people... seriously… how long has Father Christmas been just that? Why change!!?? This gender-neutral thing can’t be done to everything!”

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Yet another user joined in, posting, “Glad my kids grew up knowing Father Christmas is based on St Nick ... a man! All for personal identities and encourage it but come on! How messed up is this world we live in?”