A Successful Conspiracy to replace New Years as the Major US Holiday...
The Night Before Christmas...
A Retrospect by James Romano
Hello 1000 Bookies!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Our next stop on our travels through literature lands us at a classic poem—A Visit from St. Nicholas or as the poem is more recognized-- The Night Before Christmas. This classic tale of a father spying on Santa Clause was written by Clement Clarke Moore and is the cornerstone of American Christmas literature, helping birth the holiday traditions we hold dear. The poem led to the popularization of Santa Claus. Moore was twice President of what is now Columbia University, where he was Divinity and Language Professor. Unfortunately, he also owned slaves which is a mark on his reputation. His famous poem was published anonymously in 1822. Legend has it that Moore wrote A Visit from St. Nicholas as a Christmas present for his children. However, the truth is far more interesting.
In 1822, the Christmas we know was a dream in the heads of some smart people. Christmas was not even a national holiday. New Years Day was the major holiday celebrated. George Washington was known for his New Years Day gatherings at Mount Vernon. Christmas like America is a melting pot for traditions. The Dutch had brought their Christmas traditions to New Amsterdam. The Dutch had the tradition of St. Nicholas as a gift bringer celebrating his feast day on December 6th every year. Children left their shoes (clogs?) out for sweets and candy. Even after the English took control New Amsterdam and renamed it New York, the Dutch culture remained vibrant. Three US Presidents were descendants of the New York Dutch Community—Martin Van Buren and the Roosevelt Family (FDR, and Teddy). The Roosevelts were descended from Dutch immigrant Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt, the founder of a dynasty that led to the two US Presidents and the First Lady of the World (Eleanor). Even after American Independence—those of Dutch ancestry embraced their history and did not lose their identity. They were affectionately known as the Knickerbockers (and today are immortalized in an NBA Basketball team).
Christmas always had a checkered past. The Catholic Church embraced December 25th as Christ’s birth date to offset the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. The embraced many pagan rituals (holly, mistletoe) and Christianized them. Authors reveal that the holiday in Britain resembled Mardi Gras. The Puritans who won the English Civil War outlawed Christmas as a Roman Catholic idolatry. However, the Dutch colonists embraced a modified holiday in America, even if the English did not. The people of Massachusetts Bay Colony rebelled against a Royal Governor who had the temerity of hosting a Christmas Party. The Knickerbockers of the early 1800s New York wanted to change the focal point from New Years to Christmas and make it a family holiday—and ultimately they were very successful. Clement Clarke Moore was integral to that success. Interesting as a side note that in America all eyes are usually upon New York City on New Years Eve. I wonder what Moore would say about that fact.
In the 1820s, the Knickerbockers formed the St. Nicholas Society in New York. The mission of the Society was to transform Christmas into a US Holiday. The author Washington Irving was one of the Founders of the St. Nicholas Society—his story, Bracebridge Hall told of a version of a traditional Christmas celebration the Irving embraced. The vision set forth in Bracebridge Hall was to inspire a young English author named Charles Dickens who himself had an unusual attachment and expectation of Christmas. After the publication of A Christmas Carol, Dickens became “The Man Who Invented Christmas”, which aided the development of the holiday season (although Washington Irving and Clement Moore deserve some credit too). Along with Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore was a founding Member and later President of the St. Nicholas Society. A Visit by St. Nicholas may have been a gift to his children or a concentrated effort to change history—you need to be the judge. But if St. Nicholas or Sinter Klaus was bringing gifts to certain children, then all children wanted to be a part of that and after The Night Before Christmas, the country could not go back—the genie (or more appropriately the elf) was out of the bottle.
The Night Before Christmas is very personal to me and my story. I was born on December 15th, 1975, ten days before Christmas. I came home from the hospital December 18th, my uncle’s birthday. My dad worked in the produce business and Christmas was his most busy time. My parents lived in a row home in Norristown, Pennsylvania. I lived 10 minutes from my one set of grandparents and 15 minutes from my other grandparents. Every December 24th, my father received his Christmas bonus. For some reason he ended up at a Hallmark store after leaving work where he purchased a copy of The Night Before Christmas, a pop-up book. It was my first Christmas present. As the years went by, my dad would read the book to us kids every year for as long as I can remember—even when I was too old, I found comfort in his reading that story. When my Rachael was born, I gave her a version of The Night Before Christmas for her first Christmas, however I asked my Dad to read it to her (and then the twins) every Christmas Eve. Humorously both my parents and my in-laws recorded copies of that book for Rachael at Hallmark. Reading this story means so much to me and hearing him doing it is a part of Christmas to me.
The St. Nicholas Society still exists in New York, they host a huge gala the first week of December every year. Attending the St. Nicholas gala is on my bucket list, the gala is black tie formal and I would love to take my wife and daughters. The Night Before Christmas changed the world and still has a hold on us. A great example of that is with the author Natasha Wing who expanded the Night Before to a book series for all holidays and special events with great books like The Night Before Halloween, The Night Before Easter, The Night Before A Snow Day etc. A Visit by St. Nicholas is a cultural experience which our American holiday season is built upon. If you have not read it in years, pick up a copy today, especially today.
Merry Christmas and Keep Reading My Friends!!!
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