The authorship of “The Night Before Christmas” has been debatable for decades. The poem is attributed to Clement Clarke Moore but there are others who feel that Major Henry Livingston, Jr. is the real author. Time frame is a common point of contention, and neither author’s claim has been proven beyond doubt. This poem is still widely celebrated and read to children on Christmas Eve throughout the United States.
Comparison of the Poem to Other Works by Moore and Livingston
An Unusual Meter: The Night Before Christmas is composed in an unusual meter for Moore, “anapestic tetrameter”. Like many of Livingston’s other poems, this one is filled with vivid imagery and witty wordplay. The poem is often regarded as the inspiration for our modern conception of Santa Claus and as the link between St. Nicholas and Christmas. Most reindeer names were also developed at this time.
Humorous Poems: Other works by Moore, such as “A Trip to Saratoga” and “The Pig and the Rooster,” are humorous narrative poems that he wrote for his kids and they are quite different from “The Night Before Christmas” in terms of both style and organization. Light verse (unprinted) and family letters by Livingston are not comparable to Moore’s scholarly writings, professional letters, and poems.
Whimsical Language: The works of Livingston showed traits of humor, originality, and good cheer. The Night Before Christmas shares hallmarks with earlier works by Livingston, such as its use of whimsical language and vivid imagery. In contrast to Moore’s two works in the same vein as The Night Before Christmas, Livingston penned a plethora of poems in this poetic form.
“All”: Much like the famous opening line of the Christmas poem, “‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,” Livingston has a habit of using the word “all” several times throughout his writings. In his writings, Livingston discussed the reindeer of Lapland and the Norse deity Thor, whose chariot was drawn by winged goats.
Clement Clarke Moore vs. Henry Livingston Jr.
Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston Jr. are the two most likely candidates and some intriguing details about their candidates are as follows:
Cases in Favor of Clement Clarke Moore’s Authorship:
- Poet Charles Fenno Hoffman gave Moore the credit for authoring the poem in 1837.
- Moore credited himself as the author of the poem when it appeared in his book, Poems.
- Moore, a professor of Middle Eastern and Greek literature as well as theology, wrote books and studies such as A Compendious Lexicon of the Hebrew Language, which was published in two volumes.
- Moore left several traces behind during his stay in Chelsea, New York City, especially the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’.
- In pivotal two-part research for Manuscripts, the quarterly journal of The Manuscript Society, Joe Nickell supports Moore as the real author.
- Moore produced some children’s poetry (including “A Trip to Saratoga” and “The Pig and the Rooster”) written in light satirical narrative verse.
- Light verse and family letters by Livingston are not comparable to Moore’s scholarly writings, professional letters, and poems.
Cases in Favor of Henry Livingston Jr.’s Authorship:
- The Poughkeepsie, New York, family of poet and farmer Major Henry Livingston, Jr. claimed he was the true author of the poem, despite having no proof of his authorship.
- MacDonald P. Jackson, emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, devoted his whole academic career to the study of authorship credit. He provides an objective assessment of the two contending theories in his 2016 book, Who Wrote the Night Before Christmas: Analyzing the Clement Clarke Moore vs. Henry Livingston Question. He employs the methods of current computational stylistics to attribute authorship to Livingston based on a statistical examination of phonemes.
- While Moore only composed two poems in verse, Livingston penned many in the same vein as “T’was the Night Before Christmas.”
- The works of Livingston showed traits of humor, originality, and good cheer.
- Relatives of Livingston remember hearing the poet recite the piece in 1808.
- Livingston described the reindeer of Lapland and compared them to the flying goats who drove Thor’s chariot in Norse mythology.
What Made This Poem Enduringly Popular?
“The Night Before Christmas” is a classic Christmas poem whose authorship has been questioned for many years. The poem is still widely read and celebrated every year. It is often regarded as the inspiration for our modern conception of Santa Claus and as the link between St. Nicholas and Christmas. Most reindeer names were also developed during the period of this poem. Its catchy rhymes and colorful images have made it a favorite of readers of all ages for over two centuries.
The poem has been transformed into innumerable novels, movies, and TV programs and has become a mainstay of Christmas festivities. Literary critics and Christmas fans may agree that the poem’s authorship controversy adds to the work’s cultural value.
The poem’s widespread translation and recitation throughout generations of families in different parts of the globe provide readers with a common cultural experience. The original editions of The Night Before Christmas fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
The Origins of the Night Before Christmas
Whether you remember it as “The Night Before Christmas” or “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” you’re familiar with a poem that had a major influence on how Santa Claus is portrayed and how gifts are exchanged throughout the holiday season. Some background information about where this poem came from is as follows:
Authorship: “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was originally published in 1823 under a pseudonym. Clement Clarke Moore took credit for writing it in 1837.
Inspiration: However, Moore is supposed to have created the poem on a snowy winter’s day on a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the actual Saint Nicholas.
Effect: The poem has had a significant impact, being credited as “arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American” and contributing to the development of Santa Claus mythology from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. It has altered the custom of exchanging gifts at Christmas.
Publication: The Troy, New York Sentinel published the poem for the first time on December 23, 1823. A close associate of Moore’s sent the poem for publication.
Music: Eventually, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was put to music, and it has since been recorded by a wide variety of performers.
Story: It’s Christmas Eve, and the family is getting ready to turn in for the night when the father is startled awake by sounds in the yard. St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) arrives in his sleigh drawn by eight winged reindeer. Santa visits homes and stuffs stockings that have been left by the fireplace.