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'Twas the Night Before Christmas
or Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas
by
Major Henry Livingston
Jr. (1748-1828)
(previously believed to be by Clement Clarke Moore)
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the
house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that
St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums
danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When
out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew
like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave
the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight
tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid
than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER!
now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now
dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle,
mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And
then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was
turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his
foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked
like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like
roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white
as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He
had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and
plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his
head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled
all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney
he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But
I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!" |
The Legend of St. NicholasBy Anise Hollingshead
The Legend
Strictly speaking, the tradition of St. Nicholas is not synonomous with the role of Santa Claus in the U.S.. As practiced
in many European countries, the celebration of St. Nicholas is separate from the Christmas holidays, and occurs during the
2 weeks prior to December 6th, which is St. Nicholas's day. Sometimes St. Nicholas Day is the main holiday for gift giving,
and not Christmas.
In the Netherlands, legend has it that Sinterklaas (Dutch name for St. Nicholas) arrives in the Netherlands by way of steamboat
from Spain 2 weeks before his traditional birthday, December 6th, along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who will
help disperse the gifts and candy to all the good children. Sinterklaas, along with the zwarte piets, will go abroad at night
and stride about the countryside wearing his red mantle, his mitre, and his golden crosier and sporting a long, white beard.
Referring to his book that lists all the good and bad children, Sinterklaas will deliver presents to all the good children,
but watch out if you've been bad! The bad children may be taken back to Spain with him. The Low Countries (Belgium and Luxemburg)
have basically the same traditions surrounding St. Nicholas, but not to the extent of the Netherlands. Children in Luxemburg
call him Kleeschen, and his helper is Ho˜seker (Black Peter). Belgian children know him as Sint Niklaas.
In Germany, St. Nicholas is also known as Klaasbuur, Sunnercla, Burklaas, Bullerklaas, and Rauklas, and in eastern Germany,
he is also known as Shaggy Goat, Ash Man and Rider and is more reflective of earlier pagan influences (Norse) that were blended
in with the figure of St. Nicholas, when Christianity came to Germany. After the reformation, St. Nicholas's attire began
to change, maybe as a reflection of the change from the Roman church, and he started to wear a red suit with fur. His dark-skinned
helper is most often known as Knecht Ruprecht. Although he still visits many homes on Dec 5th/6th and leaves candy and gifts
in the children's shoes, more recently St. Nicholas has begun showing up on Christmas Eve in Germany and is called Father
Christmas.
In France, he is now called Pere Noel (Father Christmas) and he travels in the company of Pere Fouettard. Pere Noel leaves
presents for good children, while Pere Fouettard disciplines bad children with a spanking. Pere Noel only sometimes leaves
presents on St. Nicholas day, more often now on Christmas. St. Nicholas day was celebrated formerly in Russia, but under Communism
he was changed to Grandfather Frost and wore blue instead of red. In Sicily, he comes on Dec 13th and is called Santa Lucia.
The History
St. Nicholas was born in 271 AD and died around December 6, 342 or 343 AD near the Asia Minor (Turkey) town of Myra,. where
he later became Bishop. He performed many good deeds and was a friend to the poor and helpless, and upon his death, myths
soon sprang up about him all around the Mediterranean Sea. He was reputed to be able to calm the raging seas, rescue desperate
sailors, help the poor and downtrodden, and save children. He was soon named as the patron saint of sailors, and when Myra
was overthrown, his bones were transported by sailors to Bari, a port in Italy, where a tomb was built over the grave and
became the center of honor for St. Nicholas. From here the legend spread on around to the Atlantic Coast of Europe and the
North Sea to become a European holiday tradition regardless of religion.
The Holiday Today
In anticipation of St. Nicholas's nightly visits, children in several European countries put their shoes in front of the
fire place. They sing traditional songs and provide a carrot or hay for the horse. At night Black Pete puts gifts and candy
in the shoes.
In the Netherlands, families celebrate St Nicholas's birthday the night before his feast day (December 6th). At one point
during the evening, a loud knock will herald the arrival of Sinterklaas and at the same time candy may be thrown from upstairs;
when the door is opened, a bag of gifts will be on the doorstep.
For families with older children and adults, different twists are added to the gift giving and may include gag gifts or
the drawing of gift ideas or names, and most times are accompanied by poems with a "personal touch" that poke fun at the recipient
in a gentle way (or not, depending on the families ;) ). Wrapping the presents up in odd packages and planting a trail of
clues is also part of the general fun, and can sometimes be pretty tricky to get to, depending on the squeamishness of the
recipients.
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