On December 23, 1823, the Troy Sentinel, a small publisher on River Street, published for the first time ever an anonymous poem titled "Account Of A Visit From St. Nicholas, Or Santa Claus." Known today by it's more popular "Twas The Night Before Christmas," this poem ranks as one of the most popular poems ever written. It probably is the most parodied poem of all times as well.
If it wasn't for an enlightened Troy women, Harriet Butler, this classic favorite may never have seen the light of day.
As the story goes, Harriet, the eldest daughter of the Reverend David Butler, then head of St Paul's Church on Third Street in Troy, was in New York City visiting with family friend Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of Oriental and Greek literature in the General Theological seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church. During her visit, Harriet heard the Reverend Moore recite his self penned classic to his kids.
Impressed with the lyrics and beat she asked Moore if she could copy the poem. She brought it back to Troy and sent it to the editor of the Sentinel and asked that it be printed - without giving Moore's name. Apparently, writing a child's Christmas poem was not the normal accepted practices of such dignified men at that time.
It was a hit. The paper published it every year, and in 1830, Myron King of Troy drew a woodcut that surrounded the annual rendition of the poem in the Sentinel. The poem became a hit around the country too and many newspapers began printing it every year. Moore finally included it in a small book of poems he wrote in 1844 and finally got the credit he deserved. The Rensselaer County Historical Society sells a facsimile copy of the original December 23, 1823 Sentinel.
The Net is a great medium for spreading Christmas joy around the world. A few years back when I had my computer bulletin board at WNYT- NewsChannel 13 (NewsLink), I thought I would play "Virtual Santa" and advertised on the Net that boys and girls could send Santa email and he would personally answer them all. Yeah right! I received about 5000 emails in two weeks! I was still answering those emails in March the following year. I'll never do that again!
But, keeping with the holiday spirit, this week I am featuring some great Christmas related Web sites.
Online Christmas Cards
http://www.greeting-cards.com or
http://www.bluemountain.com/eng3/christmas/index.html
Send an online animated Christmas Card to a loved one or friend at this site. Plenty of choices and it's all free at these two sites.
Santa's Favorites
http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm
How do folks in Alaska, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, and Denmark celebrate Christmas? How do you say Merry Christmas in hundreds of different languages? Check here and find out. At this same site (http://www.santas.net/favorites.htm is the home page), you can find the words of dozens of carols and songs, get great recipes, and yup, even read our Moore favorite, A visit from St. Nicholas (they have the wrong date though).
Christmas.com
Here is a site dedicated to the holiday. There's a coloring book for kids, about 50 recipes, gift suggestions, Christmas symbols around the world, and more.
Origins of Christmas Traditions
Ever wonder how various symbols and traditions were developed for Christmas? here you can find out about the origins of everything from the advent calendar to the yule log. Also on this site can be found Christmas Stories and Legends (http://www.bconnex.net/~mbuchana/realms/christmas/storindx.html) and Christmas customs around the world (http://www.bconnex.net/~mbuchana/realms/christmas/tradindx.html) and other links.
NORAD Santa Tracker
Don't fear. NORAD which tracks enemy airplanes, UFOs, and other flying phenomenon also performs an annual WISN maneuver (Where Is Santa Now?). You need Macromedia's Flash plug in (http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/?application/x- Shockwave-flash) to view the tracking. NORAD officially begins tracking Santa on December 6th, so get ready!
The Christmas Archives
This is a great site full of Christmas lore from around the world, including historical accounts of the holiday, even the history of the Christmas Tree. I know, everyone thinks it was invented by Macy's! Sorry, as early as the 7th century, a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Those converted worshipped the Fir tree as God's Tree, and by the 12th century was hanging it upside-down, from ceilings at Christmas time in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity.
The first decorated tree was at Riga in Latvia, in 1510.
Next week, I'll give you my picks for great Christmas gifts to those computer users who have everything.
©1999 Don Rittner
http://www.christmas.com/
http://www.bconnex.net/~mbuchana/realms/christmas/origindx.html
http://www.noradsanta.org/
http://people.delphi.com/mariachristm/index.html