The Annotated Night Before Christmas

These familiar words begin the classic poem that has become a staple of America’s annual Christmas ritual along with Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. But how many people know anything about the origin and history of this enduring holiday favorite? In this engrossing, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book, Martin Gardner traces the beginnings of this beloved poem and its gradual rise to fame as an indispensable part of our yearly Christmas celebration.

Beginning with a discussion about whether or not to allow children to believe in Santa Claus, Gardner recounts the history of the famous poem. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, a scholar of classical and Oriental languages, dashed off the ballad merely as a way of entertaining his two young daughters at Christmas. Originally titled "A Visit from Saint Nicholas", the poem describes an elf-sized Santa Claus and "tiny reindeer," so getting down the chimney was no stretch of the imagination. After the poem was published in a Troy, NY newspaper, its popularity quickly grew and the cult of Santa Claus took off. Copious illustrations show Santa’s evolution in the hands of various artists.

After setting forth the original poem, Martin Gardner proceeds to later imitations, parodies, and sequels, beginning with a series of hilarious specimens all titled "The Night After Christmas." The book concludes with a discussion of the only significant addition to the Santa Claus legend since Moore’s — Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Born as the hero of a Montgomery Ward Christmas giveaway pamphlet, Rudolph became famous when songwriter Johnny Marks put him into a song that swept not only the nation but also the world.

This wonderful tribute to the greatest Christmas poem of all time is the perfect holiday gift and a superb addition to Christmas book collections.

First published in 1991, this collection presents the history of the poem written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822 for his daughters, titled "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Gardner explains the evolution of Santa Claus, provides footnotes and a description of the text, and compiles several poems titled "The Night After Christmas," parodies, including those from Mad Magazine, and imitations since 1856. The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is described, and historical illustrations are spread throughout the book. A postscript corrects errors to the 1991 first edition. No index is provided. Gardner is the author of approximately 100 books. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Martin Gardner (Hendersonville, NC), the creator of Scientific American's "Mathematical Games" column, which he wrote for more than twenty-five years, is the author of almost one hundred books, including The Annotated Ancient Mariner, Martin Gardner's Favorite Poetic Parodies, From the Wandering Jew to William F. Buckley Jr., and Science: Good, Bad and Bogus. For many years he was also a contributing editor to the Skeptical Inquirer.