A Visit From St. Nicholas (T'was the Night Before Christmas)

A Right, Jolly, Old Elf

There is nothing that has been more influential of the American interpretation of Santa Claus' yearly visit on Christmas Eve than the well-known poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known in the modern age by the title T'was the Night Before Christmas and also The Night Before Christmas) which is attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, but widely acknowledged to be the original work of Henry Livingston, Jr. 

I would even go a step further and say that A Visit from St. Nicholas is likely one of the most influential pieces of literature in American History.  A poem composed nearly 210 years ago is likely the most recognized story of all time, and has had the greatest impact on our culture, history and traditions than nearly any published work ever written.

The words and the story are timeless; the descriptions of St. Nicholas and the story of his annual visit outlined in 1800 are - with a few minor exceptions - the same as children today know it to be.  The round happy bearded man, who drives a sleigh pulled by Reindeer, who comes down the chimney, leaves presents for girls and boys.

Because of the genius of Henry Livingston, Jr. and or Clement Moore, the imagery of a the red suit, the sleigh and the rest are embedded into the fabric of our Christmas experience.  Santa Claus is depicted on postcards, ornaments, books, cardboard cutouts, and coca-cola billboards, and in movies, cartoons, and television programs.  The story of St. Nick is repeated in schools, daycares, town greens, city halls, newsrooms, and nearly everywhere you go.

I will take up the iterations of St. Nicholas or Santa Claus in a separate essay, but for now my focus is on this poem and its authors.

Livingston, Moore, and theft of the Story

As a brief aside, the opportunity to create a blog series on the historical aspects of Christmas has been fairly rewarding so far in that I'm learning and re-learning bits and pieces and even secrets that I never before realized. It wasn't until I began to research this essay that I learned of the tremendous nearly century and a half controversy over the true authorship of this poem.

I will provide you with an abridged version of the controversy. 

As the story goes, the poem first appeared in the Troy Sentinel on December 23, 1823 and was attributed anonymously.  The story caught like wildfire and was reprinted all over the country - still anonymously.  And it later appeared in a book titled New York Poetry in 1837 and was once again published with an anonymous author.

Henry Livingston - the
likely author

It wasn't until 1838 that Clement Clarke Moore, more or less, took credit for the poem.  He actually included it in a book he authored called Moore's Poems in 1844.  The problem with this is that Livingston's ancestors upon reading the claim by Moore that he wrote the poem, refuted the claim as fiction (between themselves) since their father Major Henry Livingston was reading them the exact poem back in the years 1807 to 1809.  Those hearing the poem back in 1807 included Charles and and Sidney Livingston, and their neighbor Eliza who eventually married Charles.

There is a clear link between how the manuscript managed to get from the Livingstons to the Moores, and it is that the Governess of the Livingstons took a copy of the poem with her when she went to work for the Moores prior to the 1820s.  There is evidence through correspondence that Henry Livingston had also made a copy of the poem for the young lady as reported by Catherine Walker Griswold who was the daughter of Catherine Breece - the oldest daughter of Henry Livingston. 

It was also told that Moore was called to hear the poem upon visiting with his family.  There is also evidence that Moore's friend attributed the poem to Moore in the 1830s which Moore took issue with (likely because he was not the author).  Further, Livingston had died in 1828, so there was no one to refute the clam of the theft of the poem, except of course - Livingston's descendants. 

The only hole in the controversy is why didn't Livingston's descendants take issue with Moore's theft of authorship, and the reason given is that is was because Moore was considered a Bishop in the Episcopal Church and since several of Livingston's family members were part of the clergy or married to clergy that it would have been in bad taste to openly challenge the Bishop publicly.  It wasn't until much later - nearly 30 years after the death of Moore, is when Livington's family began to refute the claim that Moore was the author and reassert that Henry Livingston was the true originator of the work.

Even in the modern age there still seems to be a battle between Moore and Livingston's relatives regarding who wrote A Visit from St. Nicholas.  This includes a book published in 2000 called Author Unknown written by Livingston supporter Don Foster. Obviously, this has much too do with family bragging writes than anything else.  If anything, its likely that - and only that - the poem may never have been published if not for its inclusion in Moore's own book of poetry.  Livingston never sought to publish it, or if he did there is no evidence of his desire.

I believe the poem to be the work of Henry Livingston based on the following points:

• Poetic scholars have deemed the work very similar to some of Livingston's other 65 pieces of poetry that he is credited with.  One of these is New Year's Address written in 1819 which contains many of the same references as A Visit from Saint Nicholas. Further poetic scholars have recognized the consistency in style and rhythm of the writing.
• There are facts that support that Clement Clarke Moore would not likely have written a story about St. Nicholas given  his deeply religious convictions, and even his personality does not fit the match for someone writing about jolly old elves.  The rest of Moore's works are not remotely this creative (in contrast to many silly stories crafted by Livingston such as Memoirs of a Pine Tree, and Maelstroom - Ghost Story). There is also a letter that was found that Moore had sent to the editor of the Troy Sentinel  inquiring if he knew who the author of the poem was that was sent to him anonymously.  The letter was intended to make sure that there was no evidence that it was Livingston's work seeing as Moore was about to take credit for the work.
• Moore's cousin's deposition alleged that Moore had made only two changes from the original work published anonymously in 1823, when in fact there were 21 changes made to the original manuscript.
• There is evidence to suggest that some of the Reindeer's names came from the names of Henry Livingston's horses, several with Dutch names that were later changed in the revised text attributed as being written by Moore.
• Although there are many more examples that it is likely Livingston's work, another sticks out in my mind that somewhat seals the deal for me.  The phrase Happy Christmas (found in the last paragraph of the poem) is found to have been used in correspondence between Livingston and his fiance way back in 1773; the term was not widely used in the early 1800s and was used by those in an older generation.  Happy was replaced by Merry Christmas in the 1800s - which survived the test of time, as its still used today.

Reindeer Names

Ok, so what are the names of the Reindeer which pull Santa's sleigh?

The current available version which I have published by Checkboard Press, New York reads: "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! on, Cupid! on Donner, and Blitzen."

Early illustration of Santa's Sleigh
and Reindeer

The 1823 Troy Sentinel version reads, "Now! Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen. On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem!" (note the precise syntax, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling)

In 1825, Grigg's Almanack changed, "Blixem" to "Blixen". Whether this is by intention or not is not entirely known. The Grigg's version also changed the last sentence to read, "Now Prancer and Vixen."

The Norman Tuttle version published in 1830 looked like this: "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer! now Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Dunder and Blixem!"

And in the 1837 version, Charles Hoffman changed "Dunder" to "Donder", and "Blixem" was changed to the German "Blitzen" (losely translates to lightening) in order to rhyme better with the existing Vixen.

The original Poem

As I am a traditionalist, here is the original poem written by Henry Livingston, and published without permission anonymously in 1823:

1	'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house,
2	Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
3	The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
4	In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
5	The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
6	While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads,
7	And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
8	Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap-
9	When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
10	I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
11	Away to the window I flew like a flash,
12	Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.
13	The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
14	Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below;
15	When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
16	But a minature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,
17	With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
18	I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
19	More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
20	And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:
21	"Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen,
22	"On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem;
23	"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
24	"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
25	As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
26	When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
27	So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
28	With the sleigh full of Toys - and St. Nicholas too:
29	And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
30	The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
31	As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
32	Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound:
33	He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot,
34	And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes and soot;
35	A bundle of toys was flung on his back,
36	And he look'd like a peddler just opening his pack:
37	His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry,
38	His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
39	His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
40	And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
41	The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
42	And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
43	He had a broad face, and a little round belly
44	That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly:
45	He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
46	And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself;
47	A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
48	Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
49	He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
50	And fill'd all the stockings; then turn'd with a jerk,
51	And laying his finger aside of his nose
52	And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
53	He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
54	And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
55	But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight-
56	Happy Christmas tall, and to all a good night.

The reason I offer the original version here, is that it is worth seeing how the author(s) intended for the public to see (or hear rather) their work.  Dumbing down the language to meet our cultural standards might make it easier to read, but it may also have unintended consequences of altering the rhythm, context, beauty, and style of its composition .  In modern terms, its akin to the horrific travesty caused by Ted Turner when he colorized several movie classics in the 1980s.  Some things are simply best left as they are originally offered.

Conclusion

Whether or not, Henry Livingston or Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem that we all love to hear each Christmas, and hold dear in our hearts  - we are grateful for their combined contribution to our own understanding of the magical man in the bright red suit. 

Thanks to Mssrs Livingston and Moore, St. Nick, or Santa is forever embedded in our minds eye.  And I am proud to carry on the proud tradition of reading A Visit from St. Nicholas to my own children for their endearment of Christmas and its wonderful traditions.