‘Twas The Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020

Read this poem aloud to someone you love on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas!

Scroll to the bottom for your presents.

Or enjoy the video reading with Prince Charles & many other famous folks!

A Visit from St. Nicholas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a luster of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

****************

About the author:

Clement Clarke Moore was a writer and American Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, as well as Divinity and Biblical Learning, at the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in New York City. He was born in New York in 1779.
He wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas” for his own children and recited it to them on Christmas Eve in 1822. It is the most famous and beloved English text on the subject of Christmas!

***************

Movies based on the poem include:

The Night Before Christmas: A Mouse Tale

The Night Before Christmas

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Brenda de Jong-Pauley, MA
The English Center

••••••••••••••••••••

A little Christmas gift ––Would you like to test your English level free online? Or would you prefer our unique, free online test of business English idiom?

Shall we exchange (trade) gifts? Follow us this month on Instagram and get a private mini English course: 3 hours for the price of 2! This special offer ends on December 31. To get your gift, follow us at Instagram. When you request your gift, use the code: “InstagramChristmas.” Just call or email us to claim the gift. Use the contact form at the bottom of this page or call +31 20 823 0569.

Would you like a FREE first appointment? We will do our best to answer your questions and help you select an optimal English study plan.

Call +31 20 823 0569 to discuss English language training for you or for someone you love! Give the gift of education this year!

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and good health to you, all year round!

Brenda and the English Center team, Amsterdam, Christmas 2020

 

chevron-down linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram