Historic Highlights: Classic Christmas poem has disputed authorship

Reading “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” has become a ritual for millions. Who actually wrote the poem, however, is the question.

The beloved poem was first published on Dec. 23, 1823, as an anonymous submission to the Sentinel newspaper in Troy, New York. Though authorship is commonly attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, a seminary professor from New York City, an increasing number of scholars think the actual author was Henry Livingston, a self-styled poet and farmer from upstate New York.

In the two centuries since it first appeared, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” has become a sweeping part of American Christmas culture. Santa’s eight reindeer (save for Rudolph) were named for the first time in the poem, and many scholars cite its influence on perceptions of Santa Claus in the years since. Some even believe the poem changed the custom of giving gifts at Christmastime.

In its initial publication at Troy in 1823, the 56-line poem appeared under the title “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” There were some subtle differences in the version we know today, including the names of two of the reindeer. Rather than “Donner” and “Blitzen,” the last two reindeer on the hitch were called “Dunder” and “Blixem.” That was closer to the Dutch spelling prominent in the New York area at the time.

Exactly how the anonymous poem ended up at the paper is debated. Some believe that a friend of Moore sent the verse in.

In a preface to the poem, the Sentinel wrote that “we know not to whom we are indebted for the following description of that unwearied patron of children – that homely, but delightful personification of parental kindness – Sante (sic) Claus.”

The paper continued that “we hope our little patrons, both lads and lasses, will accept [the poem] … as a token of our warmest wish that they may have a merry Christmas … and that they may never part with that simplicity of character, which is their own fairest ornament, and for the sake of which they have been pronounced, by authority which one can gainsay, the types of such as shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.”

Clearly, the spirit of Christmas carried a more evangelical meaning than the informality and commercialism of modern times. But “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” sometimes reflects a deeper meaning today.

At the Island Grove United Methodist Church in New Berlin, Illinois, lay speaker Taylor Pensoneau recently created a sermon around the poem. “I think it symbolizes the warmth of the season, not just through a child’s eyes, but for everyone,” Pensoneau said. “In many ways, the words of the poem reflect the warmth of Christmas more than Santa, reindeer or the other symbols that we now associate with the holiday.”

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Poetry was one of many successes for Moore, though some modern scholars take a dim view of his poetic skill. He was born in New York City in 1779 and was the valedictorian of Columbia University in 1798. Moore resided at his mother’s family estate, “Chelsea,” on the edge of Manhattan.

Moore spent three decades as a professor at General Theological Seminary, which was created on 66 acres of land he had donated from his family estate. A prolific writer and scholar, he was also a member of the Columbia board of trustees for 44 years. Moore died in 1863.

Many poems of the time were submitted anonymously or under a pen name and, unlike today, were frequently in newspapers. The author of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was not known until 1837, when Charles Fenno Hoffman, a writer and poet, attributed authorship to Moore, a good friend.

In 1844, Moore claimed authorship himself, including the verse in a new anthology of his poems. He later said that he had written the poem for his children.

In an era before instant internet searches and notifications, controversy over the authorship did not arise until 1859, 36 years after the initial publication, when the family of Henry Livingston found Moore was, in their view, improperly taking credit.

Oddly, Livingston’s wife is believed to be distant kin to Moore, though the two men reportedly never met. Livingston, who was born in 1748, had fought in the Revolutionary War in the Canada expedition of 1775 and led the colonial left wing at Saratoga two years later. Livingston also fought at Monmouth in 1778.

A farmer from Poughkeepsie, New York, Livingston published various poems and drawings in area outlets, often anonymously. At least two of Livingston’s children, as well as a neighbor girl, declared that they remembered their father reading the poem to the family in 1807.

Henry Livingston died in Poughkeepsie on Leap Day 1828. Twice married, he fathered a total of 11 children.

One of his grandsons was Sidney Breese, a U.S. senator from Illinois from 1843-49 and a longtime member of the Illinois Supreme Court, who is a leading figure in mid-19th century Illinois history.

Breese is considered a driving – and unsung – force in the creation of the Illinois Central Railroad, which was the longest railroad in the world (705.5 miles) when completed in 1856.

The southern Illinois town of Breese, in Clinton County, is named in his honor. Nearby, the Breese home in Carlyle still stands and is now home to a fine museum maintained by the Clinton County Historical Society.

One of the society members, Bob Hammel, has extensively researched the Breese connection to “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Mary Essen, the society president, says the Breese family was “shocked and confused” upon learning that Moore was given credit for the poem.

“The Breese family remembered their grandfather reading the poem to them as children, well before it was ever published,” said Essen. “It was a family tradition for them. When they found out that Moore was taking credit, they were really surprised, because they recalled their grandfather reading that poem years before.”

Breese’s mother, Catherine, was one of several family members who believed the poem had been transported by a Moore family governess who had visited the Livingston home. Skeptics, however, discount this assertion.

Descendants of the Livingston family also said they found the original handwritten copy of the poem. The document was allegedly lost in a house fire in Wisconsin, where a son and daughter of Henry Livingston later resided.

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The debate over the authorship of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” has continued for decades, and picked up in this millennium. In 2000, Vassar College professor Donald Foster, in his book “Author Unknown,” argued that Livingston was the true author.

Stephen Nissenbaum, a professor emeritus from the University of Massachusetts, promptly published an article the following year, discounting Foster’s work and attributing credit to Moore.

In 2016, MacDonald Jackson, an English professor emeritus from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, published a book devoted solely to the question of the poem’s authorship. Like Foster, Jackson concluded that Livingston was the author.

Using various methods, both Foster and Jackson argue that the style of the poem is far more consistent with Livingston’s works than those of Moore. Supporters of Moore note that Livingston himself never claimed credit and that no copies of the poem have been discovered with Livingston’s name on them.

Whatever the case, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” has become a cherished Christmas tradition in many households, where the poem is read annually to youngsters enamored with a sense of wonder about the holiday.

The poem has been recited in public by countless celebrities, including on recordings by Perry Como and Louis Armstrong, and was the basis for a Rankin-Bass animated special in 1974. Meanwhile, the authorship controversy was also addressed in a 2022 Hallmark movie.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.