'‘Twas the Night before Christmas', also known as 'A Visit from St Nicholas' was written in 1822 by Clement Clarke Moore and was originally written for his family (supposedly on Christmas Eve, but this may have just been part of a marketing strategy from the publishers). It was first published in the Troy (New York) Sentinel on 23rd December 1823. From that date onwards it has been published in many magazines, newspapers, books, and anthologies, as well as being used as the basis for films, radio and television programmes.
The poem was first printed as a book in 1837. The poem paints a perfect, romantic image of the ideal family Christmas, from the stereotypical picture of the family on Christmas Eve to the make-believe image of St. Nicholas landing his sleigh on the roof of the house and slipping down the chimney, and the reading of this poem on Christmas Eve is a tradition in families all over the world. It takes the reader into the realms of fantasy and at the same time it gives child readers something exciting to believe in, because of course most children are taught to believe in Father Christmas from a very young age.
This poem historically appears to be the first mention of St. Nicholas actually having a sleigh and reindeer, which seems to be almost unbelievable in today’s society with all of the Christmas merchandise sold with a picture of a sleigh or reindeer on them. Even the description of St. Nicholas as a plump man with ‘cheeks like roses’ (line 38), a smile, a wobbly belly, and a bag full of toys on his back has been carried forward through history to give the present day conception of Santa Claus / Father Christmas / St. Nicholas which adorns millions of Christmas cards every year. The reindeer’s names are also still used in today’s society in Christmas songs and pub quiz type general knowledge questions. The reindeer that are known as Donder and Blitzen (which are German words) can be translated into the English words Thunder and Lightning, however even in English versions of the poem they are still called either Donder and Blitzen, or Donna and Blitzen to keep the rhyme scheme in place with Blitzen rhyming with Vixen.
Did Clement Clarke Moore Write 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'?
Clement Clarke Moore stayed anonymous as the author of this poem until 1844, and the poem is known as either ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ or ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’. In several American versions of the poem the last line has been changed to ‘Merry Christmas to all...’ instead of ‘Happy Christmas to all...’, as Merry Christmas is more commonly used as a Christmas greeting in the U. S. A.
There has been some controversy over whether Clement Clarke Moore actually wrote ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’, but in all modern editions the credit is certainly given to him, and David Butler who allegedly took the poem to the editor of The Sentinel was apparently related to Clement Moore. Henry Livingston Jr did generally write poetry using an anapaestic metrical scheme, and ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ was more similar to Henry Livingston’s usual style of writing than it was to Clement Moore’s. Moore had previously published various scholarly pieces of writing but it is stated that he decided to publish this poem after a request to do so was made by his children which provides an explanation of why he produced a piece of poetry quite unlike his other writing.
Parodies of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'
Since the poem was published in the original state, it has inspired the creation of many different parodies and adaptations, ranging from the musical ‘Twas the Night’, which was created by Susan Bardsley and Lani Brockman, to other written versions such as ‘The Cajun Night before Christmas’ which involves alligators instead of reindeer, to films such as ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’ by Tim Burton, and television / radio productions like ‘A Muppet Family Christmas’ where the Sesame Street characters act out a play based upon the poem. In numerous children’s television programmes this poem (and variations of the poem) have been read out, both by real and by animated characters. There is even a Pokemon version of the poem for children to listen to.
The Excitement of Christmas
‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ imagines childhood to be a perfect time filled with happiness, joy, and excitement, which for some children is not what reality is like. It gives the image of the children in the poem as being ‘nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads’ (lines 5-6), which teaches the child reader / listener about what good children should do on Christmas Eve. However it also goes on to let the child know what is supposedly happening whilst all of the family are fast asleep so that they can feel excited at the prospect of waking up to gifts on Christmas morning.
Although this poem was written in 1822, it is still read and enjoyed by millions of households, especially at Christmastime.
Readers may also enjoy reading Analysis of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and J K Rowling - Children's Themes
Angie Briscoe - I am a 36 year old writer, recently graduated from the Open University in Humanities with Philosophy. I have been writing for ...
