Pretend it never existed and it will just go away

I have just read a rather disturbing article at The Guardian about Pamela McColl’s recently published revision of Clement C. Moore‘s classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, or “Twas the Night Before Christmas” as it’s more commonly known. McColl, an anti-smoking campaigner has removed two offending lines from the poem as well as the images of St. Nicholas (gasp!) Smoking a Pipe.

I believe in promoting a healthy lifestyle. I also believe in promoting ethical human and environmental conscientiousness. I’m all for setting a good example for children, so I tried to rewrite the poem with modern issues in mind.  Of course I changed Christmas to Winter Holiday so as not to offend any non-Christmas-celebrators and likewise St. Nicholas had to become an “Imaginary Gift-Giver (children don’t need such false-hope provocations, do they?) Obesity is such a problem that sugar-plums had to become ‘Healthy Snacks’. (I haven’t yet tackled the problem of Santa’s described physique.)

I worried about what climate-friendly alternative I could use for that wood-guzzling, heat-leaking, smoke-belching chimney and then I thought about how I could possibly deal with the narrator’s poor choice in opening up the window and exposing himself so carelessly to what might have been a criminal act on his lawn.

It was all just too much to handle, so I gave up. Perhaps it’s better to just make various versions of the poem. McColl’s with her smoke-less version might start the trend and then the anti-obesity people can deal with the health issues. Greenpeace might want to get in there and figure out how the chimney should really be configured.

Oh, hey! Brain-wave! There could be a “Choose Your Own Modern Issue” where you can flip pages to get the version that works for you and your kids.

Personally, I think I’ll stick with the original after all and if I need to discuss history, culture, values, science and health with students and my grandchildren, I can handle that.

Dear Ms. McColl: Go ahead and rewrite the poem, (your intentions are honourable), it’s in the public domain after all. But don’t try to pass it off as the original. The Original is Awesome.

Read: The Guardian: Santa’s pipe put out in new edition of children’s classic

Twas the Night Before Christmas: History and Tradition

Attributed to Clement C. Moore (although there is some controversy surrounding authorship), the poem originally entitled A Visit From St. Nicholas was first published anonymously in 1823.

Clement C. Moore

The poem, which has been called “arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American”,^[1] is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond. (Wikipedia)

A Visit From St. Nicholas, The New York Book of Poetry 1937

This enduring story is part of my Christmas tradition, as my father always read it to my sister, brother and I every Christmas Eve as we sat by the illuminated tree, in our pajamas, preparing for those ‘visions of sugar plums’ (whatever they were) to ‘dance in our heads’. No wonder it has inspired illustrators since its first (not illustrated, I believe) publication. I expect to listen to my son read it to my granddaughters tonight.

Scans of nearly 100 versions of the poem/book up to 1949 appear at Santa Claus.com and Amazon lists an absolute plethora of versions in all media currently available.

A screen shot of some of 483 results yielded in a Google search for 'book cover:"twas the night before christmas" '

My students love Jan Brett's exquisitely intricate illustrations.

Published this past October this version illustrated by Charles Santore looks very promising. Although I might be drawn to some of the antique versions, my students love explosions of colour.

The poem can be found across media and genre: from Pokemon to classical, hiphop and feature movies. I suppose I’m showing my age when I admit that I love the sonorous 1965 narration by Lorne Greene.

If you are really curious about the history of this poem you might want to check out Nancy H. Marshall’s The Night Before Christmas: A Descriptive Bibliography of Clement Clarke Moore’s Immortal Poem (Oak Knoll Press 2002).