A Visit from St. Nicholas: Difference between revisions
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| content1 = 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house<br/>Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;<br/>The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,<br/>In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;<br/>The children were nestled all snug in their beds,<br/>While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads<br/>And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,<br/>Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap—
| content2 = When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,<br/>I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.<br/>Away to the window I flew like a flash,<br/>Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.<br/>The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,<br/>Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below;<br/>When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,<br/>But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,<br/>With a little old driver, so lively and quick,<br/>I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
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More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,<br/>And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:<br/>"Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer and Vixen,<br/>"On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Donder and Blitzen;<br/>"To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!<br/>"Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"<br/>As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,<br/>When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;<br/>So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,<br/>With the sleigh full of toys—and St. Nicholas too:<br/>And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof<br/>The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
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As I drew in my head, and was turning around,<br/>Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound:<br/>He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot,<br/>And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes and soot;<br/>A bundle of toys was flung on his back,<br/>And he look'd like a peddler just opening his pack:<br/>His eyes—how they twinkled! His dimples: how merry,<br/>His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;<br/>His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,<br/>And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;<br/>The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,<br/>And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
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He had a broad face, and a little round belly<br/>That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly:<br/>He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,<br/>And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself;<br/>A wink of his eye and a twist of his head<br/>Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.<br/>He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,<br/>And fill'd all the stockings; then turn'd with a jerk,<br/>And laying his finger aside of his nose<br/>And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
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He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,<br/>And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:<br/>But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—<br/>Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
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An 1823 poem by Clement Clarke Moore about a visit from [[Santa Claus|St. Nick]]. Originally titled "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas".
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