Reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” has become a ritual for millions. Who actually wrote the poem, however, is the question.
The beloved poem was first published on Dec. 23, 1823, as an anonymous submission to the Sentinel newspaper in Troy, N.Y. Though authorship is commonly attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, a seminary professor from New York City, an increasing number of scholars think the actual author was Henry Livingston, a self-styled poet and farmer from upstate New York.
In the two centuries since it first appeared, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” has become a sweeping part of American Christmas culture. Santa’s eight reindeer (save for Rudolph) were named for the first time in the poem, and many scholars cite its influence on perceptions of Santa Claus in the years since. Some even believe the poem changed the custom of giving gifts at Christmastime.
In its initial publication at Troy in 1823, the 56-line poem appeared under the title “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” There were some subtle differences in the version we know today, including the names of two of the reindeer. Rather than “Donner” and “Blitzen,” the last two reindeer on the hitch were called “Dunder” and “Blixem.” That was closer to the Dutch spelling that was prominent in the New York area at the time.
Exactly how the anonymous poem ended up at the paper is debated. Some believe that a friend of Moore sent the verse in.
In a preface to the poem, the Sentinel wrote that “we know not to whom we are indebted for the following description of that unwearied patron of children – that homely, but delightful personification of parental kindness – Sante (sp) Claus.”
The paper continued that “we hope our little patrons, both lads and lasses, will accept [the poem]…as a token of our warmest wish that they may have a merry Christmas…and that they may never part with that simplicity of character, which is their own fairest ornament, and for the sake of which they have been pronounced, by authority which one can gainsay, the types of such as shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.”
Clearly, the spirit of Christmas carried a more evangelical meaning than the informality and commercialism of modern times. But “Twas the Night Before Christmas” sometimes reflects a deeper meaning today.
At the Island Grove United Methodist Church in New Berlin, Ill., lay speaker Taylor Pensoneau recently created a sermon around the poem. “I think it symbolizes the warmth of the season, not just through a child’s eyes, but for everyone,” said Pensoneau. “In many ways, the words of the poem reflect the warmth of Christmas more than Santa, reindeer, or the other symbols that we now associate with the holiday.”
