🎅What is "Twas the Night Before Christmas"?🎅

The following video provides a brief history of the famous poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and its impact on the holiday. Get the Christmas workbook

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The poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” has become a classic, which we all associate with the holiday. Who wrote it? What does it mean to us?

The poem we know as “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was originally titled “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”. It was written in 1823 by Clement Clark Moore, a minister from New York. The poem tells a brief tale of a man who’s awoken by strange noises outside his home on Christmas Eve. He looks out the window to see St. Nicholas approaching with his flying reindeer. As the poem progresses, the narrator eventually has an encounter with the saint.

When the poem was first written, Moore chose to publish it anonymously. He had written it for his children, and since he was a minister, scholar, and professor he did not feel it was appropriate to have his name attached to such a light-hearted tale. It was not until many years later that he chose to claim ownership over the poem.

The poem has brought us many different things which we now consider long-standing aspects of our Christmas tradition, primarily the appearance of St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus. Moore describes St. Nicholas as having rosy cheeks, a white beard and “a round little belly”. This helped firmly establish our modern vision of Santa’s appearance.

Aside from that, Moore also created the names of many of the reindeer. He also established the story that the reindeer fly. Additionally, the poem gave rise to the notion that Santa comes down the chimney to deliver presents (although, all of these elements can be seen in earlier traditions).

The poem itself has become a part of the holiday tradition. Many believe it is the best-known poem ever written by an American. Some families choose to recite the poem each year and it has come to symbolize a strong part of a traditional Christmas.