What do you think?
Rate this book
The Annotated Night Before Christmas
s/t: A Collection of Sequels, Parodies & Imitations of Clement Moore's Immortal Ballad About Santa Claus
"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." These familiar words begin the classic poem that has become a staple of America's annual Christmas ritual along with Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. But how many people know anything about the origin and history of this enduring holiday favorite? In this engrossing, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book, Martin Gardner traces the beginnings of this beloved poem and its gradual rise to fame as an indispensable part of our yearly Christmas celebration.
"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." These familiar words begin the classic poem that has become a staple of America's annual Christmas ritual along with Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. But how many people know anything about the origin and history of this enduring holiday favorite? In this engrossing, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book, Martin Gardner traces the beginnings of this beloved poem and its gradual rise to fame as an indispensable part of our yearly Christmas celebration.
Beginning with a discussion about whether or not to allow children to believe in Santa Claus, Gardner recounts the history of the famous poem. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, a scholar of classical and Oriental languages, dashed off the ballad merely as a way of entertaining his two young daughters at Christmas. Originally titled "A Visit from Saint Nicholas", the poem describes an elf-sized Santa Claus and "tiny reindeer," so getting down the chimney was no stretch of the imagination. After the poem was published in a Troy, NY newspaper, its popularity quickly grew and the cult of Santa Claus took off. Copious illustrations show Santa's evolution in the hands of various artists.
After setting forth the original poem, Martin Gardner proceeds to later imitations, parodies, and sequels, beginning with a series of hilarious specimens all titled "The Night After Christmas." The book concludes with a discussion of the only significant addition to the Santa Claus legend since Moore'sRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Born as the hero of a Montgomery Ward Christmas giveaway pamphlet, Rudolph became famous when songwriter Johnny Marks put him into a song that swept not only the nation but also the world.
This wonderful tribute to the greatest Christmas poem of all time is the perfect holiday gift and a superb addition to Christmas book collections.
253 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1991
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Martin Gardner
269 books506 followersMartin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature (especially the writings of Lewis Carroll), philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. He wrote the Mathematical Games column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981, and published over 70 books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 2, 2021
It is a very short poem, so how could you do a whole book of annotations on it? You can't. Instead, this is a set of sequels, parodies and imitations of the poem, plus commentary on those. Many are fun or interesting, but they get repetitive after a while.
I get the feeling that Martin Gardner wasn't a big fan of punk music, because his annotations for "A Visit from Sid Vicious" contains an explanation that the Ramones are a British band.
I get the feeling that Martin Gardner wasn't a big fan of punk music, because his annotations for "A Visit from Sid Vicious" contains an explanation that the Ramones are a British band.
December 17, 2024
It got repetitive, unsurprisingly, and some of the parodies were a bit boring. I did love one early on in the collection in which two children pray for their dad, and the story by Chesterton at the end was also sweet.
December 20, 2023
AN INFORMATIVE SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE POPULAR POEM
Science writer Martin Gardner wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “I hope no one imagines that I regard the selections in this book as good poetry… Popular verse, like good poetry, can vary in aesthetic value… Moore’s original ballad… is an example of popular verse at its best… I confess unashamedly that I enjoy popular verse when it is artfully constructed… I firmly believe that a hundred years from now Moore’s poem… will be memorized and recited and enjoyed, whereas no one outside university cloisters will recall a single poem by William Carlos Williams.”
He points out, “It is often claimed that Moore’s poem has been translated into all the major languages. However, Anne Lyon Haight, in her preface to a catalog for an exhibition of … early printings of Moore’s ballad, had this to say: ‘I know of no collection, large or small, or editions in other than English. I have advertised for foreign language copies, but with no success.’” (Pg. 19-20)
He recounts, “It was in the winter of 1822 that Moore, in a light-hearted mood, dashed off his famous ballad to read at Christmas to his two daughters [seven and six years old]… Present during the reading was either Harriet Butler… of a friend of hers… Just before Christmas, a year later, an unknown woman (most likely Mrs. Butler) gave a copy of Moore’s poem to the editor [Oroville Luther Holley] of the Troy Sentinel, without telling him who wrote it… The fifty-six-line poem was such an instant success… that for several years the Sentinel reprinted it each Christmas… Not until seven years later was the question raised about the poem’s origin. Who was the author, the New York Courier wanted to know… Holley answered the query… ‘The lines were FIRST published in this paper. They came to us from a manuscript in possession of a lady of this city. We have been given to understand that the author of them belongs… to the city of New York, and that he is a gentleman of MORE merit as a scholar and a writer of many MORE of MORE noisy pretensions.’ Holley’s italicizing of ‘more’ in his last sentence… suggests that he knew who the author was, but respected Moore’s desire not to have his name associated with what he considered insignificant doggerel.” (Pg. 23)
He notes, “Moore’s poem was [after Washington Irving’s ‘Knickerbocker’ book] the second major influence on the evolving American Santa. Having Saint Nick come down the chimney … was probably Moore’s invention. Of course, only a small person could do that, and for this reason Moore’s Santa is a ‘jolly old elf’ who arrives on a sleight pulled by ‘tiny reindeer.’ … ‘The sleigh drawn by reindeer was pure invention!’ exclaims Stevenson. This was widely believed until it was discovered that in 1821, a year before Moore wrote his masterpiece, a small… book of eight pages… was published in New York by William B. Gilley, a friend and neighbor of Moore’s… [The book] was titled ‘The Children’s Friend…’ … [and was] written and illustrated by Arthur J. Stansbury, a Presbyterian minister… One of its pages shows Santa in a sleigh pulled by a single reindeer.:” (Pg. 29-30)
He explains, “This leads to a question about which I have no firm opinion. Is it good or bad to let children believe in Santa Claus? There are persuasive arguments on both sides. Parents who think it is bad maintain that it is never good to tell children lies. When children learn the truth about Santa, they will find it harder to believe other things their parents tell them. A religious parent can argue that… a child will naturally conclude when he is older that God, too, isn’t real---only a mythological figure … such [as] Saint Nick and Uncle Sam. On the other hand, it can be argued that children adore fantasy and derive enormous pleasure from the Santa Claus myth… If you are a secular humanist … you can argue that letting children swallow the myth for a brief time is good training for becoming adult skeptics about God and Jesus. After all, the great Biblical miracles strain credulity even more than the story of a fat man who comes down chimneys and enters millions of houses in a single night.” (Pg. 35-36)
He reveals, “I happen to be a philosophical theist, so let me toss out a suggestion… It’s a poor faith that can’t preserve itself in the face of evidence which seems to point toward foolishness. Perhaps allowing children to believe in Santa Claus, then later telling them that Santa doesn’t exist, is a healthy preparation for adult trust in a power higher than imaginary gods and devils. A faith that can be damaged by early disenchantment over Santa Claus surely is not much of a faith.” (Pg. 37)
Of the last two reindeer’s names [‘Donner and Blitzen’], he comments, “Isaac Asimov [wrote]… ‘One hangover from the Germanic past is “Donder and Blitzen,” which means “thunder and lightning.”’’ … the couplet read in the original … newspaper publication: Dunder and Blixem’… We know that Moore intended the names to be Donder and Blitzen because that is how he spelled them when he included the ballad in his book of poems, and in 1862 when he wrote out the poem in longhand…” (Pg. 40-41)
This book will be of great interest to those who want to know more about the background of this famous poem.
Science writer Martin Gardner wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “I hope no one imagines that I regard the selections in this book as good poetry… Popular verse, like good poetry, can vary in aesthetic value… Moore’s original ballad… is an example of popular verse at its best… I confess unashamedly that I enjoy popular verse when it is artfully constructed… I firmly believe that a hundred years from now Moore’s poem… will be memorized and recited and enjoyed, whereas no one outside university cloisters will recall a single poem by William Carlos Williams.”
He points out, “It is often claimed that Moore’s poem has been translated into all the major languages. However, Anne Lyon Haight, in her preface to a catalog for an exhibition of … early printings of Moore’s ballad, had this to say: ‘I know of no collection, large or small, or editions in other than English. I have advertised for foreign language copies, but with no success.’” (Pg. 19-20)
He recounts, “It was in the winter of 1822 that Moore, in a light-hearted mood, dashed off his famous ballad to read at Christmas to his two daughters [seven and six years old]… Present during the reading was either Harriet Butler… of a friend of hers… Just before Christmas, a year later, an unknown woman (most likely Mrs. Butler) gave a copy of Moore’s poem to the editor [Oroville Luther Holley] of the Troy Sentinel, without telling him who wrote it… The fifty-six-line poem was such an instant success… that for several years the Sentinel reprinted it each Christmas… Not until seven years later was the question raised about the poem’s origin. Who was the author, the New York Courier wanted to know… Holley answered the query… ‘The lines were FIRST published in this paper. They came to us from a manuscript in possession of a lady of this city. We have been given to understand that the author of them belongs… to the city of New York, and that he is a gentleman of MORE merit as a scholar and a writer of many MORE of MORE noisy pretensions.’ Holley’s italicizing of ‘more’ in his last sentence… suggests that he knew who the author was, but respected Moore’s desire not to have his name associated with what he considered insignificant doggerel.” (Pg. 23)
He notes, “Moore’s poem was [after Washington Irving’s ‘Knickerbocker’ book] the second major influence on the evolving American Santa. Having Saint Nick come down the chimney … was probably Moore’s invention. Of course, only a small person could do that, and for this reason Moore’s Santa is a ‘jolly old elf’ who arrives on a sleight pulled by ‘tiny reindeer.’ … ‘The sleigh drawn by reindeer was pure invention!’ exclaims Stevenson. This was widely believed until it was discovered that in 1821, a year before Moore wrote his masterpiece, a small… book of eight pages… was published in New York by William B. Gilley, a friend and neighbor of Moore’s… [The book] was titled ‘The Children’s Friend…’ … [and was] written and illustrated by Arthur J. Stansbury, a Presbyterian minister… One of its pages shows Santa in a sleigh pulled by a single reindeer.:” (Pg. 29-30)
He explains, “This leads to a question about which I have no firm opinion. Is it good or bad to let children believe in Santa Claus? There are persuasive arguments on both sides. Parents who think it is bad maintain that it is never good to tell children lies. When children learn the truth about Santa, they will find it harder to believe other things their parents tell them. A religious parent can argue that… a child will naturally conclude when he is older that God, too, isn’t real---only a mythological figure … such [as] Saint Nick and Uncle Sam. On the other hand, it can be argued that children adore fantasy and derive enormous pleasure from the Santa Claus myth… If you are a secular humanist … you can argue that letting children swallow the myth for a brief time is good training for becoming adult skeptics about God and Jesus. After all, the great Biblical miracles strain credulity even more than the story of a fat man who comes down chimneys and enters millions of houses in a single night.” (Pg. 35-36)
He reveals, “I happen to be a philosophical theist, so let me toss out a suggestion… It’s a poor faith that can’t preserve itself in the face of evidence which seems to point toward foolishness. Perhaps allowing children to believe in Santa Claus, then later telling them that Santa doesn’t exist, is a healthy preparation for adult trust in a power higher than imaginary gods and devils. A faith that can be damaged by early disenchantment over Santa Claus surely is not much of a faith.” (Pg. 37)
Of the last two reindeer’s names [‘Donner and Blitzen’], he comments, “Isaac Asimov [wrote]… ‘One hangover from the Germanic past is “Donder and Blitzen,” which means “thunder and lightning.”’’ … the couplet read in the original … newspaper publication: Dunder and Blixem’… We know that Moore intended the names to be Donder and Blitzen because that is how he spelled them when he included the ballad in his book of poems, and in 1862 when he wrote out the poem in longhand…” (Pg. 40-41)
This book will be of great interest to those who want to know more about the background of this famous poem.
March 24, 2019
A collection of a wide-variety of versions of the Night Before Christmas including different cultural versions, regional, occupational etc. The book also gives the history of the original poem and it's animated versions too.
December 24, 2025
I started this a long while back. I love Martin Gardner.
This is highly repetitive due to it being mostly a collection of the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, but I also loved the inclusion of the creation of Rudolph towards the end and ending on Chesterton’s Shop of Ghosts.
This is highly repetitive due to it being mostly a collection of the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, but I also loved the inclusion of the creation of Rudolph towards the end and ending on Chesterton’s Shop of Ghosts.
December 31, 2021
This was a well-researched & documented history of this classic poem & its parodies.
November 19, 2023
A great book for lovers of this exceptional holiday poem. LOVED IT!!!!
November 29, 2013
OK, wrong season, so that is probably coloring my perception. That, and the fact that I don't feel too great today.
This isn't bad, but 90% of it is NOT about the actual poem. It's parodies and so forth written over the past 150 years. A bit disappointing, really. I skimmed. Kept hoping it would improve. Nothing much to this. I did like the Yooper Night Before Christmas.
This isn't bad, but 90% of it is NOT about the actual poem. It's parodies and so forth written over the past 150 years. A bit disappointing, really. I skimmed. Kept hoping it would improve. Nothing much to this. I did like the Yooper Night Before Christmas.
June 13, 2015
I just finished this book last evening. The research about the poem's origins and publication history were very interesting. the bulk of the book is a series of pastiches and parodies. That part got pretty repetitive after a while. Ho Ho Ho!
December 29, 2009
Christmas is not my favorite holiday, but this is an enjoyable and interesting book. Besides, can you really go wrong with Martin Gardner?
December 10, 2010
#158 Collection for Adults
December 26, 2016
I love the night before Christmas and this was cute. I liked the historical information and the regional adaptations, some of the political ones were a little much.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews