A Visit from St. Nicholas - wikipedia A Visit from St. Nicholas This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2017 ) `` The Night Before Christmas '' and `` ' Twas the Night Before Christmas '' redirect here. For other uses, see The Night Before Christmas ( disambiguation ) and ' Twas the Night Before Christmas ( disambiguation ). ' Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro ' the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse ; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there ; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads And Mama in her ' kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter 's nap‍ -- ‌ When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow, Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below ; When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and call 'd them by name : `` Now ! Dasher, now ! Dancer, now ! Prancer and Vixen, `` On ! Comet, on ! Cupid, on ! Dunder and Blixem ; `` To the top of the porch ! To the top of the wall ! `` Now dash away ! Dash away ! Dash away all ! '' As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky ; So up to the house - top the coursers they flew, With the sleigh full of toys‍ -- ‌and St. Nicholas too : And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound : He was dress 'd all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnish 'd with ashes and soot ; A bundle of toys was flung on his back, And he look 'd like a peddler just opening his pack : His eyes‍ -- ‌how they twinkled ! His dimples : how merry, His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry ; His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow ; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face, and a little round belly That shook when he laugh 'd, like a bowl full of jelly : He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laugh 'd when I saw him in spite of myself ; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And fill 'd all the stockings ; then turn 'd with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle : But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight‍ -- ‌ Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. `` A Visit from St. Nicholas '', more commonly known as `` The Night Before Christmas '' and `` ' Twas the Night Before Christmas '' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837. Some commentators now believe the poem was written by Henry Livingston Jr... The poem has been called `` arguably the best - known verses ever written by an American '' and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today. It has had a massive impact on the history of Christmas gift - giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors. `` A Visit from St. Nicholas '' eventually was set to music and has been recorded by many artists. Contents 1 Plot 2 Meter 3 Literary history 4 Original copies 5 Authorship controversy 5.1 Evidence in favor of Moore 5.2 Evidence in favor of Livingston 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Plot On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a father awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, he sees Santa Claus ( Saint Nicholas ) in an air - borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After landing his sleigh on the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack of toys with him. The father watches Santa filling the children 's Christmas stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. They share a conspiratorial moment before Santa bounds up the chimney again. As he flies away, Santa wishes everyone a `` Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. '' Meter The poem 's meter is anapestic tetrameter ( four feet of unstressed - unstressed - stressed ). The anapest is the same foot used to construct limericks, and the common metrical modifications that can be observed in the limerick form also can be observed in Moore 's poem. For example, while the first two lines each use full anapests, lines 3 and 4 each drop the first unstressed syllable. Likewise, lines 9 and 10 drop the first unstressed syllable ; they also add an extra unstressed syllable to the end. Literary history Clement Clarke Moore, the author of A Visit from St. Nicholas According to legend, `` A Visit '' was composed by Clement Clarke Moore on a snowy winter 's day during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical Saint Nicholas. Moore originated many of the features that are still associated with Santa Claus today while borrowing other aspects, such as the use of reindeer. The poem was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on 23 December 1823, having been sent there by a friend of Moore, and was reprinted frequently thereafter with no name attached. It was first attributed in print to Moore in 1837. Moore himself acknowledged authorship when he included it in his own book of poems in 1844. By then, the original publisher and at least seven others had already acknowledged his authorship. Moore had a reputation as an erudite professor and had not wished at first to be connected with the unscholarly verse. He included it in the anthology at the insistence of his children, for whom he had originally written the piece. Moore 's conception of Saint Nicholas was borrowed from his friend Washington Irving ( see below ), but Moore portrayed his `` jolly old elf '' as arriving on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. At the time that Moore wrote the poem, Christmas Day was overtaking New Year 's Day as the preferred genteel family holiday of the season, but some Protestants viewed Christmas as the result of `` Catholic ignorance and deception '' and still had reservations. By having Saint Nicholas arrive the night before, Moore `` deftly shifted the focus away from Christmas Day with its still - problematic religious associations. '' As a result, `` New Yorkers embraced Moore 's child - centered version of Christmas as if they had been doing it all their lives. '' In An American Anthology, 1787 -- 1900, editor Edmund Clarence Stedman reprinted the Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of `` Donder and Blitzen '' that he adopted, rather than the earlier Dutch version from 1823 `` Dunder and Blixem. '' Both phrases translate as `` Thunder and Lightning '' in English, though the German word for thunder is `` Donner '' and the words in modern Dutch would be `` Donder en Bliksem. '' Modern printings frequently incorporate alterations that reflect changing linguistic and cultural sensibilities. For example, breast in `` The moon on the breast of the new - fallen snow '' is frequently bowdlerized to crest ; the archaic ere in `` But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight '' is frequently replaced with as. Note that this change implies that Santa Claus made his exclamation during the moment that he disappeared from view, while the exclamation came before his disappearance in the original. `` Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good - night '' is frequently rendered with the traditional English locution `` ' Merry Christmas ' '' and with `` goodnight '' as a single word. Original copies ' Twas the night before Christmas ( credit : New - York Historical Society ) Four hand - written copies of the poem are known to exist and three are in museums, including the New - York Historical Society library. The fourth copy, written out and signed by Clement Clarke Moore as a gift to a friend in 1860, was sold by one private collector to another in December 2006. It was purchased for $280,000 by an unnamed `` chief executive officer of a media company '' who resides in New York City, according to Dallas, Texas - based Heritage Auctions which brokered the private sale. Authorship controversy Moore 's connection with the poem has been questioned by Professor Donald Foster, who used textual content analysis and external evidence to argue that Moore could not have been the author. Foster believes that Major Henry Livingston Jr., a New Yorker with Dutch and Scottish roots, should be considered the chief candidate for authorship, a view long espoused by the Livingston family. Livingston was distantly related to Moore 's wife. Foster 's claim, however, has been countered by document dealer and historian Seth Kaller, who once owned one of Moore 's original manuscripts of the poem. Kaller has offered a point - by - point rebuttal of both Foster 's linguistic analysis and external findings, buttressed by the work of autograph expert James Lowe and Dr. Joe Nickell, author of Pen, Ink and Evidence. Evidence in favor of Moore Moore is credited by his friend Charles Fenno Hoffman as author in the 25 December 1837 Pennsylvania Inquirer and Daily Courier. Further, the Rev. David Butler, who allegedly showed the poem to Sentinel editor Orville L. Holley, was a relative of Moore 's. A letter to Moore from the publisher states, `` I understand from Mr. Holley that he received it from Mrs. Sackett, the wife of Mr. Daniel Sackett who was then a merchant in this city ''. Moore preferred to be known for his more scholarly works, but allowed the poem to be included in his anthology in 1844 at the request of his children. By that time, the original publisher and at least seven others had already acknowledged his authorship. Livingston family lore gives credit to their forebear rather than Moore, but there is no proof that Livingston himself ever claimed authorship, nor has any record ever been found of any printing of the poem with Livingston 's name attached to it, despite more than 40 years of searches. Evidence in favor of Livingston Advocates for Livingston 's authorship argue that Moore `` tried at first to disavow '' the poem. They also posit that Moore falsely claimed to have translated a book. Document dealer and historian Seth Kaller has challenged both claims. Kaller examined the book in question, A Complete Treatise on Merinos and Other Sheep, as well as many letters signed by Moore, and found that the `` signature '' was not penned by Moore, and thus provides no evidence that Moore made any plagiaristic claim. Kaller 's findings were confirmed by autograph expert James Lowe, by Dr. Joe Nickell, the author of Pen, Ink & Evidence, and by others. According to Kaller, Moore 's name was likely written on the book by a New - York Historical Society cataloger to indicate that it had been a gift from Moore to the Society. Some contend that Henry Livingston Jr., not Moore, was the author of the poem Cover of a 1912 edition of the poem, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith The Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, reads The Night Before Christmas to the Little Scholars, December 2010 The following points have been advanced in order to credit the poem to Major Henry Livingston Jr. : Livingston also wrote poetry primarily using an anapaestic metrical scheme, and it is claimed that some of the phraseology of A Visit is consistent with other poems by Livingston, and that Livingston 's poetry is more optimistic than Moore 's poetry published in his own name. But Stephen Nissenbaum argues in his Battle for Christmas that the poem could have been a social satire of the Victorianization of Christmas. Furthermore, Kaller claims that Foster cherry - picked only the poems that fit his thesis and that many of Moore 's unpublished works have a tenor, phraseology, and meter similar to A Visit. Moore had even written a letter titled `` From Saint Nicholas '' that may have predated 1823. Foster also contends that Moore hated tobacco and would, therefore, never have depicted Saint Nicholas with a pipe. However, Kaller notes, the source of evidence for Moore 's supposed disapproval of tobacco is The Wine Drinker, another poem by him. In actuality, that verse contradicts such a claim. Moore 's The Wine Drinker criticizes self - righteous, hypocritical advocates of temperance who secretly indulge in the substances which they publicly oppose, and supports the social use of tobacco in moderation ( as well as wine, and even opium, which was more acceptable in his day than it is now ). Foster also asserts that Livingston 's mother was Dutch, which accounts for the references to the Dutch Sinteklaes tradition and the use of the Dutch names `` Dunder and Blixem ''. Against this claim, it is suggested by Kaller that Moore -- a friend of writer Washington Irving and member of the same literary society -- may have acquired some of his knowledge of New York Dutch traditions from Irving. Irving had written A History of New York in 1809 under the name of `` Dietrich Knickerbocker. '' It includes several references to legends of Saint Nicholas, including the following that bears a close relationship to the poem : And the sage Oloffe dreamed a dream, ‍ -- ‌and lo, the good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, in that self - same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children, and he descended hard by where the heroes of Communipaw had made their late repast. And he lit his pipe by the fire, and sat himself down and smoked ; and as he smoked, the smoke from his pipe ascended into the air and spread like a cloud overhead. And Oloffe bethought him, and he hastened and climbed up to the top of one of the tallest trees, and saw that the smoke spread over a great extent of country ; and as he considered it more attentively, he fancied that the great volume of smoke assumed a variety of marvelous forms, where in dim obscurity he saw shadowed out palaces and domes and lofty spires, all of which lasted but a moment, and then faded away, until the whole rolled off, and nothing but the green woods were left. And when St. Nicholas had smoked his pipe, he twisted it in his hatband, and laying his finger beside his nose, gave the astonished Van Kortlandt a very significant look ; then, mounting his wagon, he returned over the tree - tops and disappeared. -- Washington Irving, A History of New York MacDonald P. Jackson, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, has spent his entire academic career analyzing authorship attribution. He has written a book titled Who Wrote `` the Night Before Christmas '' ? : Analyzing the Clement Clarke Moore Vs. Henry Livingston Question, published in 2016, in which he evaluates the opposing arguments and, for the first time, uses the author - attribution techniques of modern computational stylistics to examine the long - standing controversy. Jackson employs a range of tests and introduces a new one, statistical analysis of phonemes ; he concludes that Livingston is the true author of the classic work. See also Santa Claus 's reindeer Old Santeclaus with Much Delight References Notes Jump up ^ `` A Visit from St. Nicholas ''. New - York Historical Society. Retrieved 22 November 2014. ^ Jump up to : Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike. Gotham : A History of New York City to 1898. New York : Oxford University Press, 1999. pp. 462 - 463 ISBN 0 - 19 - 511634 - 8 Jump up ^ Walsh, Joseph J. ( 2001 ). Were They Wise Men Or Kings ? : The Book of Christmas Questions. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 11. ISBN 0 - 664 - 22312 - 5. Jump up ^ Restad, Penne L. ( 1995 ). Christmas in America. Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 0 - 19 - 509300 - 3. ^ Jump up to : Kaller, Seth. `` The Authorship of The Night Before Christmas ''. sethkaller.com. Jump up ^ Siefker, Phyllis ( 1997 ). Santa Claus,. McFarland & Company. p. 4. ISBN 0 - 7864 - 0246 - 6. Jump up ^ `` A Visit from St. Nicholas ''. New - York Historical Society. Retrieved 22 November 2014. Jump up ^ `` Copy of Poem Sold ; ' Twas Worth $280 K ''. Washington Post. Associated Press. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2008. Jump up ^ Mann, Ted. `` Ho, Ho, Hoax, '' Scarsdale Magazine, 30 November 2006 ^ Jump up to : `` Major Henry Livingston Jr. ( 1748 -- 1828 ) Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas '' Archived 15 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine., Representative Poetry Online Jump up ^ Lowe, James. `` A Christmas to Remember : A Visit from St. Nicholas. '' Autograph Collector. January 2000. 26 - 29. Jump up ^ Nickell, Joe. `` The Case of the Christmas Poem. '' Manuscripts, Fall 2002, 54 ; 4 : 293 - 308 ; Nickell, Joe. `` The Case of the Christmas Poem : Part 2. '' Manuscripts, Winter 2003, 55 ; 1 : 5 - 15. Jump up ^ Christoph, Peter. `` Clement Moore Revisited ''. Major Henry Livingston Jr., the author of `` Night Before Christmas ''. Intermedia Enterprises. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2008. Jump up ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. ( 26 October 2000 ). `` Literary Sleuth Casts Doubt on the Authorship of an Iconic Christmas Poem ''. New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2008. Jump up ^ Kaller, Seth. `` The Moore Things Change..., '' The New - York Journal of American History, Fall 2004 Jump up ^ Lowe, James. `` A Christmas to Remember : A Visit from St. Nicholas, '' Autograph Collector, January 2000, pp. 26 - 29 Jump up ^ A history of New York : from the... - Washington Irving - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 12 November 2011. Jump up ^ Jackson, MacDonald P. ( 2016 ). Who Wrote `` The Night Before Christmas '' ? : Analyzing the Clement Clarke Moore vs. Henry Livingston Question. McFarland. ISBN 978 - 1476664439. Further reading Jackson, MacDonald P. ( 2016 ). Who Wrote `` The Night Before Christmas '' ? : Analyzing the Clement Clarke Moore vs. Henry Livingston Question. McFarland. ISBN 978 - 1476664439. Foster, Donald ( 2000 ). Author Unknown : On the Trail of Anonymous. New York : Henry Holt. ISBN 0 - 8050 - 6357 - 9. Gardner, Martin ( 1991 ). The Annotated Night Before Christmas : A Collection Of Sequels, Parodies, And Imitations Of Clement Moore 's Immortal Ballad About Santa Claus ; Edited, with an introduction and notes, by Martin Gardner. Summit Books. ISBN 0 - 671 - 70839 - 2. Nissenbaum, Stephen ( 1997 ). The Battle for Christmas : A Social and Cultural History of Christmas that Shows How It Was Transformed from an Unruly Carnival Season into the Quintessential American Family Holiday. New York : Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0 - 679 - 41223 - 9. Niels Henry Sonne. `` The Night Before Christmas '' -- Who Wrote It ? S.l : s.n, 1972. Reprinted from The Historical magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 41, no. 4, pages 373 - 380. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : A Visit from St. Nicholas Wikimedia Commons has media related to A Visit from St. Nicholas. Free audiobook from LibriVox eText of a 1912 edition of the poem, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, at Project Gutenberg Free Audiobook from The Internet Archive ( Community Audio ) Twaz The Night Before Christmas - Celebrity Version as read by 23 UK - known media personalities A Visit from Saint Nicholas From the Collections at the Library of Congress Twas the Night Before Christmas ( Poem ) - Text Video by Check123 Christmas portal Literature portal Christmas Christmas Eve Children 's Day Boxing Day Nochebuena Saint Nicholas Day St. Stephen 's Day Sol Invictus Yule In Christianity Biblical Magi Adoration of the Magi Adoration of the Shepherds Advent Angel Gabriel Annunciation Annunciation to the shepherds Baptism of the Lord Bethlehem Christingle Christmastide Epiphany Herod the Great Jesus Joseph Mary Massacre of the Innocents flight into Egypt Nativity Fast Nativity of Jesus in art in later culture Nativity scene Saint Nicholas Star of Bethlehem Twelfth Night In folklore Badalisc La Befana Belsnickel Caganer Christkind Ded Moroz Elves Father Christmas Grýla Jack Frost Joulupukki Knecht Ruprecht Korvatunturi Krampus Mikulás Miner 's figure Mrs. Claus Nisse / Tomte North Pole Old Man Winter Olentzero Père Fouettard Père Noël Rudolph the Red - Nosed Reindeer Saint Lucy Santa 's reindeer Santa 's workshop Sinterklaas Tió de Nadal Vertep Yule Cat Yule Lads Zwarte Piet Gift - bringers Saint Nicholas Santa Claus List of Christmas gift - bringers by country Traditions Advent calendar Advent candle Advent wreath Boar 's Head Feast Candle arches Cards Carols by Candlelight Cavalcade of Magi Crackers Decorations Events and celebrations Feast of the Seven Fishes Flying Santa Google Santa Tracker Hampers Las Posadas Letters Lights Lord of Misrule Markets Meals and feasts Moravian star Nine Lessons and Carols NORAD Tracks Santa Nutcrackers dolls Ornaments Parades list Piñatas Pyramids Räuchermann Seals Secret Santa Spanbaum Stamps Stockings Tree Twelve Days Wassailing Windows Yule Goat Yule log By country Australia and New Zealand Denmark Germany Hawaii Hungary Iceland Indonesia Ireland Mexico Norway Philippines Poland Romania Russia Scotland Serbia Sweden Ukraine Music Carols list Hit singles UK Hit singles US Music books Carols for Choirs The Oxford Book of Carols The New Oxford Book of Carols Piae Cantiones Other media Films Poetry `` Old Santeclaus with Much Delight '' `` A Visit from St. Nicholas '' Television specials Yule Log In modern society Advent Conspiracy Black Friday ( partying ) Black Friday ( shopping ) Bronner 's Christmas Wonderland Christmas club Christmas creep Christmas Day ( Trading ) Act 2004 Christmas Lectures Christmas Mountains Christmas truce Controversies Cyber Monday Economics Giving Tuesday El Gordo Holiday season In July In August Leon Day NBA games NFL games Puritan New England American Civil War Post-War United States Running of the Santas SantaCon Santa 's Candy Castle Small Business Saturday Super Saturday Virginia O'Hanlon White Christmas Winter festivals WWE Tribute to the Troops Xmas Food and drink Dinner Joulupöytä Julebord Kūčios Réveillon Twelve - dish supper Smörgåsbord Wigilia Sweets bûche de Noël Cake Candy cane Cookies Fruitcake Gingerbread Kourabiedes Melomakarono Mince pie Pavlova Pecan pie Pumpkin pie Pudding Rosca de reyes Szaloncukor Turrón Soup Menudo Sauce Cranberry sauce Beverages Apple cider Champurrado Eggnog Mulled wine Smoking Bishop Ponche crema Dumpling Hallaca Tamale Meat Ham Roast goose Romeritos Turkey Stuffing Portal Clement Clarke Moore 's `` A Visit from St. Nicholas '' ( 1823 ) Alternate titles `` The Night Before Christmas '' `` ' Twas the Night Before Christmas '' Film and television The Night Before Christmas ( 1905 ) The Spirit of Christmas ( 1953 ) Twas the Night Before Christmas ( 1974 ) Twas the Night Before Christmas ( 1977 ) Musical adaptations The Night Before Christmas ( 2006 ) Other Christmas Mountains Henry Livingston, Jr. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas&oldid=831513162 '' Categories : 1823 poems American poems Christmas poems Works originally published in American newspapers Works published anonymously Works of uncertain authorship Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from December 2017 All articles needing additional references Use dmy dates from January 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Dansk فارسی Français Italiano 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Simple English Svenska Türkçe Українська Walon 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 20 March 2018, at 23 : 41. 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Question: who wrote the twas the night before christmas
Answer: Clement Clarke Moore