A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. It created much of the modern image of Santa Claus: his sleigh, his eight reindeer, his chimney visits and his stockings.
The poem
On Christmas Eve, the narrator is woken by a noise and sees St. Nicholas arrive on the roof in a miniature sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer, which he calls by name. The saint comes down the chimney, fills the stockings and leaves.
St. Nicholas is described as a jolly, plump little elf with a white beard, a pipe and a sack of toys.
Publication
The poem appeared anonymously in the Troy Sentinel on 23 December 1823 and was reprinted in newspapers and almanacs every year. Moore included it in his Poems in 1844.
Its authorship was later contested by descendants of Henry Livingston Jr., a poet from Poughkeepsie, but most scholars attribute it to Moore.
Influence
The poem fixed the custom of Santa Claus visiting on Christmas Eve rather than on St Nicholas's Day, and gave the names of his reindeer. The cartoonist Thomas Nast's drawings from the 1860s gave him his familiar look.
It is one of the most often reprinted poems in American literature and is read aloud in many families every Christmas Eve.
Anecdotes
Dunder and Blixem
In the first version, two reindeer were called Dunder and Blixem, Dutch for thunder and lightning. Later versions changed them to Donder and Blitzen.
Rudolph came later
The ninth reindeer, Rudolph, was added only in 1939, in a booklet written by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward stores.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote 'Twas the Night Before Christmas?
It is attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed it in 1844, though Henry Livingston Jr. has also been proposed.
When was it first published?
In the Troy Sentinel, New York, on 23 December 1823.
How many reindeer are named in the poem?
Eight; Rudolph was added much later.