A Visit from St. Nicholas: Difference between revisions

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An 1823 poem by Clement Clarke Moore about a visit from St. Nick. Originally titled "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

Here it is as read by none other than the trumpet master Louis Armstrong, himself.

Tropes used in A Visit from St. Nicholas include:

Adaptation Distillation: The poem crystallizes a number of ideas about St. Nicholas first found in Washington Irving's Knickerbocker History of New York.
Anonymous Author: The poem was first published anonymously.
Beam Me Up, Scotty:
- "On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!" Only it isn't--the original poem retained the Dutch names Donder and Blixen, as was suitable to the old Dutch settlers of New York who introduced ~~Sinterklaas~~ Santa Claus to America. Later re-printings Retconned the names into their more familiar German forms. Interestingly, the 1912 edition published by Houghton Mifflin (and available at Project Gutenberg) splits the difference, giving the names "Donder and Blitzen".
- The phrase "~~Merry~~ Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
Trope Codifier: As stated above, this little poem etched in stone a lot of the core image we have of Santa Claus.

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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".