A mother from Plymouth claims she was made to feel shame for continuing to use the more old-fashioned term for Santa Claus, ‘Father Christmas.’

On a social media group the unnamed mother claims she was shamed while discussing a children’s Christmas book and referring to ‘Father Christmas’ as ‘Santa is now seen as gender neutral’ and is many parents’ preferred name for the Christmas character known for spreading joy to billions of children worldwide.

Plymouth Live reports, the mother says she has been left feeling ‘on edge’ since social media users mocked her and is afraid to use ‘Father Christmas’ if the phrase is ‘hurtful’ to someone.

The incident sparked a social media storm where thousands have taken to different platforms to express their opinions on the matter.

The Mirror reported that only 15% of Brits felt it necessary to abandon the name, ‘Father Christmas.’

The mother said: “I’ve just been shamed [on a Facebook group] for using the name ‘Father Christmas’ and [told] that ‘Santa’ is now seen as gender neutral.

“I was only referring to the book below [‘Father Christmas’ by Raymond Briggs] but it’s left me a little confused/on edge about what we are aloud [sic] to say.

“I have a small child and don’t really want to raise him saying ‘Father Christmas’ if it’s hurtful to some.”

The debate concerning gendered language rages on in several countries which have become more progressive.

Romantic languages such as Spanish have begun to incorporate an ‘x’ in the place of a gendered word to avoid excluding minority groups.

In America, the term “LatinX” is gaining popularity to describe somebody of Hispanic origin.

Plymouth Live writes:

In France, the name for the man in the red suit is ‘Pere Noel’, similar to Italy’s ‘Babbo Natale’ which both translate to ‘Father Christmas’. In Germany the typical name used is ‘Weihnachtsmann’ (Christmas Man) and in Hungary and Poland it’s ‘Mikulas’ and ‘Mikolaj’ respectively – both translating as [St] Nicholas. In Russia, the name ‘Ded Moroz’ translates as ‘Grandfather Frost’. Local parents are divided.

Last year, a debate raged on about Santa Clause’s and Rudolph’s sexualities — dividing the internet.