The Night Before Christmas

By: Clement Clarke Moore

Narrated by: Kathy Garver

On Christmas Eve night, while a family and their children were sleeping, a daughter awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, she sees Santa Claus (Saint 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 daughter watches Santa filling the children's Christmas stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. They share a conspiratorial moment before Santa bounds up the chimney again. As he flies away, Santa wishes everyone a "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

The Night Before Christmas is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837.

The poem has been called arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-19th century to today. It has had a massive impact on the history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors.

A Visit from St. Nicholas eventually was set to music and has been recorded by many artists.

Public Domain (P)2018 Citrus Tree Publishing

Screams the story

woke up my kid mid story, shouting. Not a good narration. Nice story overall. Get a different version