50 Fun Facts About 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Under what title was the poem first published, anonymously, in 1823?

The 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' name comes from its famous first line; the poem itself is properly 'A Visit from St. Nicholas.'

How does the poem describe the sleigh when it first appears?

A friend of Moore's sent it to the upstate New York paper; the Sentinel published from 1823 to 1832 and its former office on River Street still stands.

Who is traditionally credited as the poem's author, having claimed it in print in 1837?

Moore, a biblical scholar, was reluctant to be linked to such unscholarly verse and only included it in his 1844 collected poems at his family's insistence.

Which Revolutionary War veteran and poet from Poughkeepsie has been proposed as the poem's true author?

Livingston's family long claimed it, and a Vassar professor argued for him in 2000 — though no printing with Livingston's name has ever been found.

For whom did Moore say he originally wrote the poem?

In an 1844 letter he admitted he wrote it 'not for publication, but to amuse my children,' while still claiming it as his 'literary property.'

According to tradition, where was Moore when he composed the poem?

His St. Nicholas was said to be inspired by a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical saint.

Which friend of Moore's, author of a satirical History of New York, shaped his St. Nicholas?

Irving's 1809 'Knickerbocker' history has St. Nicholas smoking a pipe, laying a finger beside his nose and flying over treetops in a wagon.

How did Moore's poem differ from Irving's version in the timing of St. Nicholas's visit?

Historians argue the shift 'deftly' moved the focus away from Christmas Day, which some Protestants still viewed with suspicion.

How many reindeer pull St. Nicholas's sleigh in the poem?

A ninth, red-nosed reindeer did not join the team until a 1939 department-store story; the poem's eight are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid and two more.

What do 'Dunder and Blixem', the last two reindeer in the 1823 printing, mean in Dutch?

Later editions changed them to Donder and Blitzen; the modern 'Donner' is a further German-influenced respelling.

Which of these is NOT one of the reindeer named in the poem?

Rudolph came from a 1939 Montgomery Ward booklet and the 1949 song, and has been tacked onto the team ever since.

In the poem, what were the children dreaming of as they slept?

'While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads' — sugar-plums were hard comfits of layered boiled sugar, not plums at all.

What is the narrator wearing when he settles down for 'a long winter's nap'?

'And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap' — the sleeping headwear of 1820s New York.

What is the first thing that wakes the narrator?

'When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.'

According to the poem, what gave 'the lustre of mid-day to objects below'?

'The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow' is one of the lines Ken Darby cut from his popular musical setting.

How does the poem describe what the narrator sees when he looks out the window?

The 'little old driver' is also 'a right jolly old elf' — Moore's Santa is small, a detail later illustrators steadily abandoned.

The reindeer are said to be 'more rapid than' what?

'More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name.'

To what does the poem compare the reindeer flying up to the house-top?

'As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.'

How is St. Nicholas dressed when he comes down the chimney?

The red suit came later, from illustrators like Thomas Nast; Moore's St. Nick 'looked like a peddler just opening his pack.'

St. Nicholas's nose is compared to which fruit?

'His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!' — the eyes twinkled and the dimples were merry.

What does St. Nicholas hold tight in his teeth?

The smoke 'encircled his head like a wreath.' A 2012 'smoke-free' edition removed the pipe entirely.

St. Nicholas's little round belly shook when he laughed like what?

The line follows 'He had a broad face and a little round belly' and precedes 'He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf.'

What gesture does St. Nicholas make just before rising up the chimney?

The nose-touch echoes an earlier St. Nicholas description by another New York writer; in the poem it comes with 'a nod.'

How many words does St. Nicholas speak inside the house?

'He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work' — his only line comes as he flies away.

The sleigh flies away 'like the down of' what?

'He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.'

In the original text, what does St. Nicholas exclaim as he drives out of sight?

Most modern recitations say 'Merry,' but Moore wrote 'Happy Christmas.'

The poem's traditional author was a professor of what subject at New York's General Theological Seminary?

He had published a Hebrew and English Lexicon in 1809 and donated the seminary's land, an apple orchard from his family's estate.

Which Manhattan neighborhood grew out of Moore's family estate, which he subdivided and developed?

He gave 66 lots of the estate's apple orchard to the Episcopal Church for the seminary that still sits on Ninth Avenue.

Which noted poet and editor credited Moore as author when he anthologized the poem in 1840?

By the time Moore printed it under his own name in 1844, the original publisher and at least seven others had already acknowledged him.

Which professor used textual analysis in 2000 to argue Moore could not have written the poem?

Foster's case for Livingston was rebutted point by point by document dealer Seth Kaller, who once owned one of Moore's manuscripts of the poem.

How many handwritten copies of the poem in Moore's own hand are known to exist?

Three are in museums including the New-York Historical Society; the fourth, signed for a friend in 1860, sold privately for $280,000 in 2006.

How much did a private collector reportedly pay in 2006 for the one Moore manuscript not in a museum?

Heritage Auctions brokered the sale to an unnamed New York media executive.

What did a 2012 edition 'Edited by Santa Claus for the Benefit of Children' remove from the poem?

Publisher Pamela McColl's smoke-free version was translated into four languages.

Which composer's bowdlerised setting, recorded three times by Fred Waring, became the best-known sung version?

Darby cut the 'moon on the breast of the new fallen snow' verse; Johnny Marks wrote a separate short 'Night Before Christmas Song' in 1952.

Which jazz legend recited the poem in a March 1971 recording made four months before his death?

It was taped at his home in Corona, Queens; Perry Como had recorded a recitation for RCA Victor in 1953.

Which studio made the 1905 silent film that was the first screen adaptation of the poem?

Edwin S. Porter, of The Great Train Robbery, directed it; Santa is shown feeding real reindeer.

Disney's 1933 Silly Symphony The Night Before Christmas was a sequel to which 1932 short?

St. Nick delivers the toys he made in the earlier film to a house of sleeping children, and the toys come alive.

The 1941 Tom and Jerry cartoon The Night Before Christmas lost the Best Cartoon Short Oscar to which Disney film?

It is the only Tom and Jerry cartoon ever to lose the award to a Disney short.

Which studio produced the 1974 animated TV special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas?

It debuted on CBS on December 8, 1974, and the network aired it every year until 1994.

In the 1974 special, why is Santa boycotting the town of Junctionville?

Albert, the son of Father Mouse, wrote it; the town builds a clock tower that plays a song to win Santa back.

Who narrates the 1974 special as Father Mouse, though the credits say 'told and sung by Joel Grey'?

Grey plays clockmaker Joshua Trundle and reads the poem as a secondary thread; Tammy Grimes voices Albert.

Which song from the 1974 special did Kyle sing in South Park's 'A Very Crappy Christmas'?

South Park even superimposed Joshua Trundle's face over Kyle's during the number.

The 1974 special was animated in Japan by Topcraft, later absorbed into which famous animation house?

Topcraft animated many of the studio's holiday specials before being rolled into Ghibli in 1985.

The 2022 Hallmark film 'Twas the Night Before Christmas centers on what annual small-town event?

The film turns the Moore-versus-Livingston dispute into a mock trial staged every Christmas Eve.

In which New York newspaper was the poem first printed on December 23, 1823?

A friend of Moore's sent it in without his name, and it was reprinted widely for years before anyone was credited.

Besides the historic saint, what local figure inspired Moore's Saint Nicholas, according to tradition?

Moore invented many features of today's Santa but borrowed others, such as the reindeer, from earlier accounts.

Which Christmas songwriting specialist composed a short 'Night Before Christmas Song' in 1952?

Marks, best known for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, saw his version recorded many times.

The first musical setting to use the poem's full, unaltered text was a 1992 cantata by which composer?

It premiered with the Webster University Orchestra and chorus and has since been performed by regional groups in Missouri, Illinois and Colorado.

A 2023 computer analysis by Tom A. Jerman found how many of 17 tests pointed to Moore as the author?

Jerman used Patrick Juola's authorship-attribution software; earlier studies by English scholars had leaned toward Henry Livingston Jr.

Which 1989 comedy features the poem being read on screen?

Prancer, The Santa Clause, Reindeer Games and Falling for Christmas also feature readings of the poem.