On this day in 1823 the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas was first published in the Troy Sentinel. It has also been called “Twas the Night Before Christmas” because of the first line in the poem. When first published, the writer remained anonymous. Authorship has been attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed to have written in in 1837; but it has also been suggested that Henry Livingstone Jr. wrote it. The claim for authorship is still questioned.
Wiki say that the poem has been called “arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American” and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-19th century to today. It has had a massive effect on the history of Christmas gift-giving. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was later set to music and has been recorded by several artists. It was regularly featured each year at the close of each Fibber McGee and Molly Christmas show.
In 1942, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians recorded it. They would re-record it in 1955 and 1963. This is the original cut.
Countless takes on the poem/song have been recorded. Perry Como did it, as did Louis Armstrong (four months before his death). Even actor Art Carney tried his hand at it:
And recently, Michael Buble’ offered his version…
And who knew that Liberace, yes LIBERACE, did a version too?
Of course, the politically correct folks had to chime in with a version. Twas the Night Before Christmas: Edited by Santa Claus for the Benefit of Children of the 21st Century is a 2012 edited “smoke-free” version of “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, published by Grafton and Scratch Publishing. The reference to St. Nicholas’s pipe is removed. Really?
Here is the original piece:
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 