A Visit from St. Nicholas, more commonly known as The Night before Christmas is a small poem by an American writer, entrepreneur and public person Clement C. Moore.
For the first time it was described how Santa Claus looked and moved (he flew in the sky in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, whose names were also mentioned), and what happened when he was visiting a house on Christmas Eve with the presents.
A Visit from St. Nicholas is still the most favorite Christmas fairy-tale in America. Some researchers consider it to be “probably the most famous poem ever written by an American”. The poem influenced a lot on how Santa Claus is imagined by a whole English speaking world.
A mid the many celebrations last Christmas Eve, in various places by different persons, there was one, in New York City, not like any other anywhere. A company of men, women, and children went together just after the evening service in their church, and, standing around the tomb of the author of "A Visit from St. Nicholas," recited together the words of the poem which we all know so well and love so dearly.
Dr. Clement C. Moore, who wrote the poem, never expected that he would be remembered by it. If he expected to be famous at all as a writer, he thought it would be because of the Hebrew Dictionary that he wrote.
He was born in a house near Chelsea Square, New York City, in 1781; and he lived there all his life. It was a great big house, with fireplaces in it;-just the house to be living in on Christmas Eve.
Dr. Moore had children. He liked writing poetry for them even more than he liked writing a Hebrew Dictionary. He wrote a whole book of poems for them.
E. McC.