Possibly the most well-known poem related to Christmas, and one that single-handedly changed the way people view Christmas. This poem has been adapted with music or animations so many times that it has become instantly recognisable even just from the opening lines. The poem we are talking about is of course ”Twas the Night Before Christmas’.
Penned by Clement Clarke Moore back in 1823, the poem reshaped how people view gift-giving and the idea of Santa Claus. The poem was originally published anonymously but Clarke Moore claimed its authorship some years later. The story revolves around the events happening on the night of Christmas Eve, when a father wakes up in the middle of the night because of some noise he hears outside while his family is asleep. As he looks out of his window, the father sees a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, driven by Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, which then lands on the roof. Santa enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack full of toys, and fills the stockings hanging by the fire. The poem was originally named ‘A visit from Saint Nicholas’, but is more commonly known by the opening five words ”Twas the night before Christmas’. The video chosen for this week’s Video Fix actually narrates the same iconic poem, and is an excerpt from the Christmas animated movie, ‘The Christmas Elves’.
We hope you enjoyed this video and that you have a fantastic Christmas. We will be back with another Video Fix after the holidays!
Sources:
A Visit from St. Nicholas. 2020. Poetry Foundation. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43171/a-visit-from-st-nicholas. [Accessed 18 December 2020].
Wikipedia. 2020. A Visit from St. Nicholas. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas.
[Accessed 18 December 2020].
Written by Veronica Lynn Mizzi : Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament (Luxembourg). Graduate in the Maltese Language and Communication, and Master’s graduate in Translation and Terminology Studies from the University of Malta. Former journalist