'‘Twas the Night Before Christmas' Celebrates Its Bicentennial
Posted by freedomforall 11 months ago to Entertainment
Excerpt:
"Exactly 200 years ago this week, a 56-line Christmas poem was published anonymously on Dec. 23 in the “Troy Sentinel.” The poem was an instant hit among readers, and was published in other works and attributed to “Anonymous.” Its official title was "A Visit From St. Nicholas," but is better known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."
The poem changed how people viewed Santa Claus (or St. Nicholas) and how they viewed Christmas altogether. Santa Claus is described as “dressed all in fur,” with “a bundle of toys … on his back,” “his cheeks … like roses,” “his nose like a cherry,” a beard “as white as snow,” “chubby and plump,” with “a little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.”
These descriptions are now synonymous with Ole St. Nick, but before, he was often viewed as a thin bearded man with a stern look. That perception, however, quickly changed after the 1823 poem, and thankfully so. A stern Santa Claus is hard to imagine, even though he possesses the “Nice and Naughty List.”"
"Exactly 200 years ago this week, a 56-line Christmas poem was published anonymously on Dec. 23 in the “Troy Sentinel.” The poem was an instant hit among readers, and was published in other works and attributed to “Anonymous.” Its official title was "A Visit From St. Nicholas," but is better known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."
The poem changed how people viewed Santa Claus (or St. Nicholas) and how they viewed Christmas altogether. Santa Claus is described as “dressed all in fur,” with “a bundle of toys … on his back,” “his cheeks … like roses,” “his nose like a cherry,” a beard “as white as snow,” “chubby and plump,” with “a little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.”
These descriptions are now synonymous with Ole St. Nick, but before, he was often viewed as a thin bearded man with a stern look. That perception, however, quickly changed after the 1823 poem, and thankfully so. A stern Santa Claus is hard to imagine, even though he possesses the “Nice and Naughty List.”"
