This carefully crafted ebook: "Twas the Night before Christmas - A Visit From Saint Nicholas (Illustrated)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents Extract: "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…" A Visit From Saint Nicholas, which has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American", is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, and has had a massive impact on the history of Christmas gift giving. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. It became a popular poem which was set to music and was recorded by many artists. On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a father awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, he sees St. Nicholas in an air-borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After landing his sleigh on the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack of toys with him. The father watches Nicholas filling the children's Christmas stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself.… Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) was a writer and professor and is credited with writing A Visit from St. Nicholas for his children.