A famous Christmas poem called ‘The Night before Christmas’ or ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’
A Visit from St. Nicholas is a very well known Christmas poem that many people have read over the years. This is a poem that has been past down from generation to generation.
A Visit from St. Nicholas was first published in 1823 and it is largely responsible for the modern idea of Santa Claus. This image of Santa Claus includes the way he looks, when he visits children, his method of travel, the names of his eight reindeer, and the fact that he has toys and other goodies in his big red bag for children.
Before this poem, the imagines of Santa Claus and other Christmas characters varied considerably. The poem at first was published with no author attached Authorship of this poem was attributed to Clement Clarke Moore and the poem was also placed in a book of his published works.
There is a dispute as to whether Moore wrote A Visit from St. Nicholas or if Henry Livingston who was a New Yorker with Dutch roots wrote it. Today, some printings of this poem have altered the grammar and the spelling in the poem.
Moore as author of the poem
Here are some reasons why it is believed that Clement Clarke Moore wrote A Visit from St. Nicholas:
- Moore claimed authorship of the poem in 1844 at the request of his children. Moore wished to be known more for his academic works.
- Moore and Irving were part of the same literary society in New York City and they were also good friends.