Who wrote ‘’Twas the Night Before Christmas’? Plus 5 other Christmas poems

“’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

These words come from the first two lines of immensely popular poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” more popularly known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Though it was originally published anonymously to the Troy Sentinel, the poem has been credited to Clement Clarke Moore, according to S.A.R Histories.

Is there controversy over ‘’Twas the Night Before Christmas?’

Moore claimed the poem in 1844 when he included it in a poetry collection, CBC reported. As a professor of Middle East and Greek literature and author of “Compendious Lexicon of the Hebrew Language,” Moore feared publishing a Christmas poem for children would taint his image as a serious scholar.

There has been recent debate that the poem was actually written by Maj. Henry Livingston Jr., according to Poetry Foundation. Since Livingston died years before Moore included the poem in his own collection, speculation of who the actual author is has largely remained just that.

The editor of the Troy Sentinel said in the 19th century, “We know not to whom we are indebted for the following description of that unwearied patron of children ... but, from whomsoever it may have come, we give thanks for it,” per the New York State Library.

How does ‘’Twas the Night Before Christmas’ depict Santa Claus?

Regardless of whoever the author is, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” drastically changed how Santa Claus is perceived. Carnegie Mellon University explained, “Before the poem’s publication, St. Nicholas was portrayed as a lanky, stern bishop who visited children to dispense both gifts and discipline.”

This poem reimagined Santa Claus as a “jolly old elf” and incorporated reindeer into the Christmas story for the first time. Santa’s descriptions widely resemble his modern perception having “a broad face and a little belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.” The poem’s Santa also had a beard “white as the snow,” cheeks “like roses” and a nose “like a cherry.”

5 others famous Christmas poems

This Christmas, celebrate the season by reading seasonal poetry. Here are several other Christmas poems.

1. ‘’The Twelve Days of Christmas’

Author: Anonymous.

Publication date: 1780.

This poem was first seen in the 1780s, appearing in “Mirth With-out Mischief,” a children’s book. Vox discussed the poem’s history, saying, “Some historians think the song could be French in origin, but most agree it was designed as a ‘memory and forfeits’ game, in which singers tested their recall of the lyrics and had to award their opponents a ‘forfeit’ — a kiss or a favor of some kind — if they made a mistake.”

Notable quotation: “The first day of Christmas, / my true love sent to me, / a partridge in a pear tree.”

2. ‘The Oxen’

Author: Thomas Hardy.

Publication date: 1915.

Hardy wrote this poem while living in England during World War I. “The war stripped away many illusions, and people who might have been clinging to a residual belief in old customs and traditions often found themselves becoming disillusioned very quickly,” Interesting Literature explained.

“The hopeful note sounded by Hardy’s final line is perhaps at odds with the pessimistic tone of much of his poetry, but makes sense in the context of his fondness for magical and supernatural beliefs as part of rustic cultural traditions.”

Notable quotation: “Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock. / ‘Now they are all on their knees,’ / An elder said as we sat in a flock / By the embers in hearthside ease.”

‘Ring Out, Wild Bells’

Author: Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Publication date: 1850.

This poem is typically read and sung during the transition to a new year, but “Ring Out, Wild Bells” also references transitioning through phases of grief. Owlcation explains, “The poem ‘Ring Out, Wild Bells’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson forms part of the elegy ‘In Memoriam, A.H.H,’ published in 1850. Tennyson wrote the elegy as a tribute to his close friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, who was also his sister’s fiancé and who had died suddenly at the age of 22.”

Notable quotation: “Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, / The flying cloud, the frosty light: / The year is dying in the night; / Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.”

‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day’

Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Publication date: 1865.

Longfellow wrote this poem after hearing news that his son who was serving in the Civil War had been temporarily paralyzed. Two years earlier, Longfellow had been badly burned trying to save his wife after her dress caught fire. The St. Augustine Record reported, “She died in the fire and his burns were so severe he could not attend her funeral.”

The story goes that as Longfellow listened to Christmas Day bells in 1863, he began writing the words to this poem: “In despair, I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said.”

Notable quotation: “I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play, / And wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

‘In the Bleak Midwinter’

Author: Christina Rossetti.

Publication date: 1872.

The 19th and 20th century periodical, Scribner’s Monthly, asked Christina Rossetti for a poem for its winter 1871/1872 publication. Voyager of History explained, “Rossetti herself was experiencing increased periods of illness at this time, something that had plagued her for much of her life and would continue to do so till her final days, but still wrote back with an offering for publication.”

Notable quotation: “What can I give Him, poor as I am? / If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; / If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; / Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.”