Twas the Night Before Christmas Or Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas

Clement C. Moore's iconic poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas," receives a lavish, full-size gift edition, marking its two-hundredth anniversary. This definitive volume, with gorgeous monochrome illustrations by Matt Tavares, honors the poem's original language and brings to life the beloved tale of St. Nicholas's magical visit on Christmas Eve. It's a foundational text for the modern conception of Santa Claus, depicting him as the jolly, sleigh-riding, chimney-diving elf we know today. Perfect for families wanting to share a cherished holiday tradition, this book captures the wonder and excitement of Christmas.

Exquisitely detailed drawings by Matt Tavares embody the spirit of a magical night now in a lavish, full-size gift edition marking the two-hundredth anniversary of the classic poem. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. Once upon a time, children imagined St. Nicholas as a stern, skinny bishop who was as likely to dole out discipline as Christmas presents. But thanks to the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas”—written by Clement C. Moore in 1822 and published the next year in the Troy Sentinel—a plumper, merrier St. Nick was born, transformed into the sleigh-riding, chimney-diving jolly old elf we now call Santa Claus. With gorgeous monochrome illustrations by Matt Tavares that are meticulously true to pre-Victorian times, this reissue of the holiday favorite ’Twas the Night Before Christmas Or Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas honors the poem’s original language in a definitive keepsake volume.