Twas the Night Before Christmas

STAR

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;

Christmas

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,

Reindeer

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, Donner 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.

FLICKR 379

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;

Santajack profile

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.

santajack2

But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

8 responses to “Twas the Night Before Christmas”

  1. Sandy (Momisodes) Avatar

    Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas! Loved the photos of the pups 🙂

  2. Burgh Baby's Mom Avatar

    I can’t believe the pups let you dress them up! That might be the greatest pictorial accompaniment for ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas of all time.

  3. ambika Avatar

    It’s a lucky thing I wasn’t drinking anything when looking at these! So funny!

  4. Sandy (Momisodes) Avatar

    Just stopping to wish you a Happy New Year!

  5. Susi (Dragonflydreamer) Avatar

    I just adore the photos of your dogs. How did you get them to wear the hats? I just wanted to stop by and wish you a very Happy New Year!

  6. Ari (Baking and Books) Avatar

    What adorable photos! I hope you and yours had a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year!

  7. Chara Michele Avatar

    Oh my goodness I love this post! 🙂

  8. nkristis Avatar

    Thanks everyone, these photos required lots and lots of treats.
    I hope all of you had a great holiday season.

Leave a Reply to ambika Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *