Sunday, December 23, 2007

A Visit From St. Nicholas

From today's Writer's Almanac...

On this day in 1823, an anonymous poem entitled "A Visit From St. Nicholas" was printed in the Troy (New York) Sentinel. It is known better by its first line: "'Twas the night before Christmas..." Though attributed to Clement C. Moore, it is likely that the original poem was written by Major Henry Livingston. Many of the modern qualities associated with Santa Claus grew out of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which described Santa as "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf."

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