The poem \"The Night Before Christmas\" has become so much a part of Christmas that it’s hard to imagine the holiday without it. Originally published as an \"Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,\" it appeared in 1823 in the newspaper, the Troy Sentinel. It has since been reprinted hundreds of times, acted out on stage, and read over the radio and on film and CD. The author, CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE, is said to have written the poem for his children on Christmas Eve, 1822. Our modern image of Santa Claus as a bearded, plump, jolly figure can be traced back to Moore’s famous description of St. Nick: \"He had a broad face, and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.\""Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 - July 10, 1863) was a writer and professor and is credited with writing \"A Visit from St. Nicholas\" for his children. Originally published anonymously on December 23rd, 1823, the poem that would come to be known as \"'Twas the Night Before Christmas,\" was responsible for the creation of the Santa Claus myth as it is known in the United States and much of the English-speaking world. Gennady Spirin is a Russian painter and children's book illustrator. A graduate of the Surikov School of Fine Art in Moscow and the Moscow Stroganov Institute of Art, he is noted for his unique style of watercolor illustration. | The Night Before Christmas, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters