If you had been born in Great Britain or America perhaps you would know this poem by heart:
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Written by Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, and published in 1823 in America, with its description of St Nick and his reindeers, it has contributed to define our timeless image of Santa Claus.
According to tradition, the poem is read to children on Christmas Eve.
Here is a summary:
On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a man awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out of the window, he sees St. Nicholas in an air-borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After landing his sleigh on the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack of toys with him. The man watches Nicholas filling the children’s Christmas stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. As he flies away, Saint Nicholas wishes everyone a
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
