'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
When this poem was originally published, it was under the title “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” which later transformed into “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and yet it almost seems inevitable that it was destined to be commonly referred to by its opening words. Although “’Twas the night before Christmas” is only questionable regarding its legitimacy as the title, one must admit it is a much more appropriate choice. Many poems take their title from the opening line or a phrase within the opening line and this opening line is all it takes to situate in the minds of readers exactly what is things look house in that house. Of course, a strong argument can be made that the reason that imagery is so strong is because the poem created the iconic imagery of Christmas decorating. Kind of a chicken and the egg thing.
"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!”
These are the names of Santa’s reindeer all but officially (not including Rudolph). In fact, other writers have forwarded alternative names over the decades, but nothing has quite stuck like these. Of course, even within the famous eight things are not entirely universal. In the very first published version, the list ends with “Dunder and Blitzem.” And today, of course, the overwhelmingly majority of people are still convinced that it readers “Donner and Blitzen” even though Donner never appears in place of Donder in any version published until the 20th century. At one time, for a brief period, Blitzen did undergo a name change into Blixen, presumably for the purpose of creating a more perfect rhyme with Vixen.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose
The mythic origins of St. Nick aka Santa Claus are quite clearly rooted in the pre-Industrial Revolution era via its connection to fireplace chimneys being his preferred method of entry into homes. This iconic image could only have caught fire, so to speak, within that relatively brief period between when chimneys became commonplace in homes rather than limited to upper classes and the arrival of gas and electric heating which made them fireplaces obsolete. The vision of St. Nick entering and exiting through chimneys is therefore yet another element of Victorian England which has created the image of Christmas observance and celebration. While getting down a chimney poses a difficult enough question to answer, at least it makes a sort of rational sense purely from the perspective of gravity. How Santa could possibly exit through the same point of entry is always one of the trickier questions parents must be prepared to answer. And it should not be difficult to answer because it’s all explained right here.
