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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas....'Twas The Night Before


'Twas The Night Before Christmas
In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem for his three daughters entitled, "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas." Moore's poem, which he was initially hesitant to publish due to the frivolous nature of its subject, is largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus as a "right jolly old elf" with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head! Although some of Moore's imagery was probably borrowed from other sources, his poem helped to popularize Christmas Eve – Santa Claus waiting for the children to get to sleep the now-familiar idea of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve – in "a miniature sleigh" led by eight flying reindeer, whom he also named – leaving presents for deserving children. "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," created a new and immediately popular American icon. In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper's Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children. It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, and his wife, Mrs. Claus.

Merry Christmas to All my visitors and Friends
K


3 comments:

  1. I so love this story don't you?
    I have it posted on my Blog too - along with covers from over the years...go visit the post...you'll love it.
    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
    Stay safe and warm and ENJOY!
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Have a wonderful day.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the visit....! I encourage and look forward to your thoughts and comments. Many Blessings...K