’Twas the Night Before Christmas, ’ was originally published anonymously in 1823 as 'A Visit from St. Nicholas.’ Perhaps the most famous Christmas poem of all time, it relates the story of a father awoken from his sleep on Christmas Eve by Santa Claus – St. Nick in the poem – who lands with his sleigh and 'eight tiny reindeer’ on the roof of the house, comes down the chimney and delivers toys to the family. He then departs, calling out as he flies away the famous closing line: 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!’
A Christmas classic for two centuries, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas’ was claimed by author Clement C. Moore in 1837 and is presented here in its original and unabridged form, complete with illustrations by the artist Jessie Willcox Smith, which were published with a new edition of the poem in 1912.
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Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American real estate developer, scholar and amateur poet, best known as author of the Christmas poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas.’ Moore was Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, as well as Divinity and Biblical Learning, at the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in New York. He made is fortune by subdividing his real estate in New York’s Chelsea district. He also served for 44 years on the Board of Trustees of Columbia University and was a board member of both the New York Society Library and the New York Institution for the Blind. 'A Visit from St. Nicholas, ’ – better known for its famous opening line, ”Twas the Night Before Christmas’ – was first published anonymously in 1823. Moore publicly claimed authorship in 1844, and despite claims to the contrary, is generally accepted as the true author of the poem.