Twas the Night Before Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas and other famous tales
‘Twas the night before Christmas is a classic poem that was originally titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas”.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and other tales from Laura Legend…
“‘Twas the night before Christmas” is the opening line of a poem believed to have been written by Clement C. Moore in 1822. The poem was actually titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, but the opening line has caught on and is used by many as the title of the poem.
There have been some claims that the infamous poem was not written by Moore, but was rather penned by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. Still, Moore is widely recognized as the author.
In the poem, ‘Twas the night before Christmas, Moore describes events of Christmas Eve referring to stockings, visions of sugarplums, Santa, his sleigh and his reindeer. He says that St. Nick whistled and called the reindeer by name and introduces the names of Santa’s eight reindeer (excluding Rudolph).
Though in the poem Santa was called St. Nick, “‘Twas the night before Christmas” is credited for creating our modern day vision of Santa Claus.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer…
Like ‘Twas the night before Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a classic Christmas tale.
In 1939 the original tale of Rudolph was written by Robert L. May as a promotional item for Montgomery Ward department stores.
The first song about Rudolph was written by May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, and was sung by Gene Autry.
Cartoons have been produced based on the Rudolph character as well. However, the original story of Rudolph, written by May, is quite different from the song or the shows.
Christmas story traditions…
Reading original stories, such as May’s version of Rudolph, the original story of The Grinch by Dr. Seuss and other Christmas tales is a wonderful Christmas tradition for families. ‘Twas the night before Christmas is a wonderful bedtime story to share with children on Christmas Eve.