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Father Christmas
noun the fluffy airborne seed of various plants, such as the moth plant or Scotch thistle. Compare fairy, robber, Santa Claus, wish.
Contributor's comments: When I was a child in Queensland, the term Father Christmas was also used for the fluffy white dandelion seed balls which floated in the air after the weeds had seeded. I have also heard "Father Christmas" used in the same way in the ACT.
Contributor's comments: I grew up in QLD and never referred to Father Christmas. We always used Santa Claus and the term Father Christmas was always viewed as something that the British or other states used.
Contributor's comments: Born and bred in Victoria, and I have never heard it.
Contributor's comments: Only ever Santa Claus in SEQ. Father Christmas seemed to become fashionable with the influx of migration.
Contributor's comments: In Canberra in the early/mid 80s, we also used to refer to these as 'wishes'.
Contributor's comments: When I lived at Jamestown SA in about 1950 we used this term.
Contributor's comments: I have lived my whole life in Victoria and have never heard of those seeds as Father Christmas. It is definitely not a Melbourne expression. We always called them 'fairies'. The idea was to catch them (without damaging them), then make a wish and release them. I always understood that if you were fortunate, they would float off to the head fairy, whereupon your wish would be granted. If the wish wasn't granted, it was because they never made it back to the head fairy (wherever that was).