As a break from the "paperfolding in old magic books" theme, and while there's still time, here are two Father Christmas models to add to the huge selection already available.
Father Christmas and Santa Claus
They're not exactly new. The Father Christmas on the left is actually one of my very first designs (1988), though I have to admit it's based on a version by Robert Harbin (Santa's Christmas Box from Origami 3), which Harbin says was inspired by the work of Fred Rohm. One of the pioneering American folders of the 1960s, Fred Rohm was a brilliant and prolific creator, famous for a number of classic models and also his friendly rivalry with Neal Elias. His work is not seen a lot these days but luckily for us most of it was recorded by Elias, and later collected by Pete Ford in a series of three booklets published by the British Origami Society. Rohm had a couple of Father Christmas models, but it looks as if the model Harbin had in mind was one called Vera Cruz, which shows a nun standing in front of a cross (published in Harbin's Secrets of Origami). There are actually a number of origami nuns that could make good Father Christmases if folded from red and white paper.
The Santa Claus on the right (so named to distinguish it from my Father Christmas) is a bit more recent. It was designed in 2007 and is an adaptation of my Hooded Monk, which is essentially the same but without the white border.
For good measure, and since he might not get published elsewhere any time soon, here's the Hooded Monk as well. A slightly odd subject for an origami model perhaps, and probably one of those designs that are more interesting for their folding sequence than for the final result. But you never know when you might need a Hooded Monk, and in any case it's not bad to make this first before trying the Santa Claus so you can see what it's like to fold without the extra border.
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