This year marks the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the vintage Christmas classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement C. Moore!
Of course, we know it today by a different name…
That’s why this is a printable “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, and I’m offering a cute, simple four-page version of it for free!
“Twas the Night Before Christmas”
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads;
And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap—
When out on the lawn there rose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a luster of midday to objects below;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name—
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall!
Now, dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys— and St. Nicholas too;
And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow!
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump— a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!”
Free Printable Twas the Night Before Christmas Words
I’ve designed a PDF with pictures of the full story of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” for you to download and print!
The poem’s text is directly from a book copy I own that was printed in 1995 by Running Press.
(Since the poem is so old, it is now part of the public domain.)
This version stays close in script to the original words published back in 1823.
It even uses Moore’s reindeer name of “Donder” instead of the modern “Donner”!
If you’re looking for the text of a short version that fits on one page so that you can frame it and display it over your fireplace, you can use this copy instead.
Is there controversy over “Twas the Night Before Christmas”?
Indeed, there is!
Get ready for a fun bit of trivia.
When the poem was originally published in 1823, it was done anonymously.
It wasn’t until over 20 years later that Clement C. Moore officially claimed ownership by including it in his collection titled Poems.
However, descendants of a man named Major Henry Livingston Jr. claim that he’d been reciting the story to his children since 1807!
The two men never met, and Livingston died before Moore made his claims of authorship.
Today’s scholars can’t agree on a definitive answer, with compelling forensic evidence found on both sides of the story.
However, Moore’s name is the one still associated with the story, and it will likely continue to be so.
What is the last line of “The Night Before Christmas”?
You’ll notice in my printable copy that the last line of the poem begins with the word “Merry.”
This is technically not how the original poem was published.
The first word of the last line in the initial publication is actually “Happy.”
“Happy Christmas” is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, which makes Moore’s use of it even more fascinating – because he was an American!
Either way is fine, of course.
I used “Merry” not only because that’s what I’m used to, but because that’s what’s printed in my personal book copy of the poem.
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Are there different versions of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”?
The original story is so widely known, that it is a part of our collective subconscious.
Since it entered the public domain, many, many different versions of it have been written.
Many of them are modernized, targeted to specific demographics, and loaded with holiday humor!
One of the funniest (and most popular) alternatives is now over 50 years old itself: Cajun Night Before Christmas.
- Hardcover Book
- Trosclair (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 56 Pages – 10/24/2022 (Publication Date) – Pelican Publishing…
In this version set in the bayou, Santa is dressed as a muskrat and has alligators pulling his sleigh!
A similarly relocated version is A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas.
There’s also a newer version that has removed all references to Santa smoking a pipe.
If you’d rather not have any kind of conversation with your children about the existence of smoking, that’s an option for you.
But who could forget The Berenstain Bears’ Night Before Christmas?
- Berenstain, Mike (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 24 Pages – 09/24/2013 (Publication Date) – HarperFestival (Publisher)
This wholesome, fuzzy family is a staple in children’s libraries.
And here’s one more that I personally love: Mrs. Claus’s Night Before Christmas.
- McKenzie, Carrie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 32 Pages – 11/10/2015 (Publication Date) – CreateSpace Independent…
Written in the same poetic style as the original, this book is all about what’s happening behind the scenes at the North Pole after Santa’s wife sets him off in his sleigh.
