Today I was reading a book about Christmas traditions (Vintage Christmas Traditions, by Linda Davis) and found this early appearance of Father Christmas or something like him. The earlest know record of the carol is from the 15c (see here) and seems to be from the Ritson manuscript, a 15c choirbook in the British Museum.
The version below comes from A garland of Christmas carols, ancient and modern. Including some never before given in any collection (J.C. Hotten, 1861) which I found on the Internet Archive.
