Anyone else love this poem? i had it in a book I loved as a child, and it always reminds me of Christmas, I learned it off for a school play thing when I was about 8, still remember bits of it, it reminds me of the magic of Christmas.
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by Clement Clarke Moore
'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 sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the 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 the lustre of mid-day 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 that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top 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 hand, 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 of 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 bowlful 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, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
jenny*
I love that poem!!
April_Rose
It's just so marvellous isn't it? Completely captures the magic of being a child at Christmas....
jenny*
Do I still count as a child at 16?! It's just made me really excited about christmas!!
April_Rose
I think you do if you want to be! I always embrace my inner child at this time of year!
jenny*
It is a great feeling ...
April_Rose
It really is! I remember this poem from when I still believed in Santa, think that's why it's so special to me....
jenny*
awww it is a great poem ... especially for children ... and santaaa
April_Rose
Yeah, it's the kind of poem that makes me look forward to having kids myself one day, so i can share the magic with them!
Though the way things are going these days it'll probably be banned for mentioning Santa smoking a pipe...
jenny*
probably! everything's getting changed these days ... I still can't believe people can't teach their children 'ba ba black sheep' anymore!
April_Rose
I know!!! I mean....some sheep are black! Nothing to do with the people who have an African American heritage! And then there's real racism that goes unchecked while people are busy trying to rewrite the Famous Five and censor nursery rhymes!
jenny*
exactly! [what did you mean about the Famous Five?! - did that actually get re-written?! I love the Famous Five!!!]
April_Rose
I don't know if it has been yet, but I read an article last year (or maybe earlier this year, can't remember exactly) saying that they were going to rewrite the famous five because the girls and boys roles were portrayed in a very exist way - the girls have to help with housework and the boys don't and that kind of stuff....
Personally I thought it was ridiculous - I mean, it's of it's time, and when it was written that's exactly how things were, we're not going to move forward by denying the past.
Plus, George was such a tomboy, I found her to be a real inspiration, and I grew up reading those books in the 80's, more than 30 years after they were written. The fact that she does get into dangerous situations and handles herself well is more helpful to girls I think than changing the fact that she and Anne are always the ones who put the picnics together....
I love the Famous Five too, I can't bear the thought of the books being changed....
jenny*
really? that is absolutly ridiculous! Famous Five were the first books I read that I loved ... my mum used to read them to me every night and then we used to make up our own Famous Five adventure ... I can't believe they want to change them!
April_Rose
I know! it's crazy! And if they start then where are they going to stop? Books that were written in times gone by have examples of racism and sexism, because that is what the world was like then! The books were captivating because they feature kids who faced challenges of all sorts, and faced up to them and won, as I said I found them really inspirational when I was growing up. i even called myself "Jo" for a bit, the way George hated to be called "Georgina!"
jenny*
We used to play 'Famous Five' and I always had to be George or I wouldn't play! [I was a tomboy] .. she was like my hero! Whenever I got stuck with Anne I would moan that I'm not a girly-girl!!
April_Rose
I never played it, but I would have been George as well if I had!!! i was such a tomboy as well, climbing trees and building huts and going on little adventures (unfortunately never stopping any criminals!) - I wanted to be in a gang like that so much!!!
jenny*
yeah I think it was every child's dream that read Famous Five. I used to beg my parents every year to let us go on holiday to an island where we could discover a secret cave!
I even build my own 'den' in the backgarden in an overgrown bush! .. it was quite cosy i think!
I'm off now, night!
April_Rose
Night!
yeah I had several secret huts and dens, there was an old ruin of a caste a few miles from where I lived and there was a tiny island off it, I always wanted to try to get out to it but I wasn't allowed
redwinegoblin
I love that poem! It's so Christmassy and cosy - and I reckon that it's still fine to be a child at Christmas, I'm the wrong side of 25 and I still turn into a complete kid come December!
April_Rose
Yeah, I'm in the same age bracket, and it's just the only way to be, I love snow and presents (giving and getting) and decorating the Christmas tree...
jenny*
my mum decorated the xmas tree this year while I was had school! .. how disappointed was I?!!
April_Rose
That's evil! That's part of the fun!!!
jenny*
I know! I may re-do half of it .. like on Friends when Monica has her own half ... only mine will be the messy part!
Em_J
I'm going with my bro tomorrow to get our Christmas tree, but cos we're both hyper about Christmas, and my brother even more so than me, mum's given me strict instructions to watch him!! I'm 25, he's 21!
I've not read that poem before!!
April_Rose
You don't know that poem? Wow, I thought everyone did! What do you think of it reading it for the first time as an adult then?
it is a great poem ... especially for children ... and santaaa 
