NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

'Twas the night before Christmas' helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit

  • Written by Melissa Chim, Adjunct Professor and Reference Librarian, General Theological Seminary
imageIf you picture Santa Claus as plump and jolly and pulled by reindeer, you may have this poem to thank.Clement Clark Moore/New-York Historical Society

The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known by its opening line “‘Twas the Night before Christmas,” has a special place among Christmas traditions, right alongside...

Read more: 'Twas the night before Christmas' helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit

More Articles ...

  1. Why spending $2 trillion on child care, health care and fighting climate change won't make inflation any worse than it already is
  2. Mistletoe – famous for stolen holiday kisses – is a parasite that steals water and nutrients from other plants
  3. Surveys of scientists show women and young academics suffered most during pandemic and may face long-term career consequences
  4. It's all in the flag: Bussa's Rebellion and the 200-year fight to end British rule in Barbados
  5. Latest trials confirm the benefits of MDMA – the drug in ecstasy – for treating PTSD
  6. The best way to protect personal biomedical data from hackers could be to treat the problem like a game
  7. Brain wrinkles and folds matter – researchers are studying the mechanics of how they form
  8. Hurricane-force wind gusts in Colorado, dust storms in Kansas, tornadoes in Iowa in December – here's what fueled a day of extreme storms
  9. How effective are vaccines against omicron? An epidemiologist answers 6 questions
  10. What is the Fed taper? An economist explains
  11. What is the Fed taper? An economist explains how the Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus from the economy
  12. COVID-19 vaccines for children: How parents are influenced by misinformation, and how they can counter it
  13. How the Native American population in the US increased 87% says more about whiteness than about demographics
  14. I'm a Black woman and the metaverse scares me – here’s how to make the next iteration of the internet inclusive
  15. Cellphone bans in the workplace are legal and more common among blue-collar jobs – they also might be a safety risk
  16. To tree, or not to tree? How Jewish-Christian families navigate the 'December Dilemma'
  17. How Mrs. Claus embodied 19th-century debates about women's rights
  18. Mourning after mass shootings isn't enough – a sociologist argues that society's messages about masculinity need to change
  19. Pandemic, war and environmental disaster push scientists to deliver quick answers – here's what it takes to do good science under pressure
  20. 2021 Arctic Report Card reveals a (human) story of cascading disruptions, extreme events and global connections
  21. Vast majority of American workers like their jobs – even as a record number quit them
  22. Smoke, heat and stress: A snapshot from Southern California of life in an altered climate
  23. US prep schools held student exchanges with elite Nazi academies
  24. 'Strangers in their own land': Iraqi Yazidis and their plight, 7 years on from genocide
  25. What partnership looks like in Mormon marriages is shifting – slowly
  26. Orthodox Jewish women's leadership is growing – and it's not all about rabbis
  27. Comic book introduces kids to key concepts and careers in cybersecurity
  28. Blocking an immune system molecule in mice may help prevent long-term disabilities after traumatic brain injury
  29. Tornadoes and climate change: What a warming world means for deadly twisters and the type of storms that spawn them
  30. Here's how Southern Baptist women found ways to lead outside the denomination
  31. In polygamous communities, deep roots of distrust shape vaccine hesitancy
  32. The US doesn't have enough faculty to train the next generation of nurses
  33. Why is my poop brown?
  34. Why the southern US is prone to December tornadoes
  35. ¿Pruebas COVID de PCR o antígenos? Conoce cuáles son las diferencias
  36. Why is inflation so high? Is it bad? An economist answers 3 questions about soaring consumer prices
  37. How conspiracy theories in the US became more personal, more cruel and more mainstream after the Sandy Hook shootings
  38. How to keep students safe in school: 5 essential reads on school shootings in America
  39. Understanding the history and politics behind Pakistan's blasphemy laws
  40. 'Zero Day' for California water? Not yet, but unprecedented water restrictions send a sharp warning
  41. Professors’ free speech rights can clash with public universities’ interest in managing their employees as they choose
  42. Union battles at Amazon and Starbucks are hot news – which can only be good for the labor movement
  43. Got Zoom fatigue? Out-of-sync brainwaves could be another reason videoconferencing is such a drag
  44. Rapid tests play a crucial role in curbing COVID-19 infections – especially as people gather for the holidays
  45. Appeals court says Trump has given 'no legal reason' to defy Congress' demand for Jan. 6 documents, but Supreme Court may have final say
  46. 'West Side Story' may be timeless – but life in gangs today differs drastically from when the Jets and Sharks ruled the streets
  47. Tropical forests can recover surprisingly quickly on deforested lands – and letting them regrow naturally is an effective and low-cost way to slow climate change
  48. Bosnia's endless crisis could be solved by letting it break apart peacefully
  49. How Elon Musk can save big on taxes by giving away a ton of his Tesla stock
  50. Colorful sweets may look tasty, but some researchers question whether synthetic dyes may pose health risks to your colon and rectum