"Twas the Night Before Christmas," was originally published anonymously in 1823 as "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Perhaps the most famous Christmas poem of all time, it relates the story of a father awoken from his sleep on Christmas Eve by Santa Claus - St. Nick in the poem - who lands with his sleigh and "eight tiny reindeer" on the roof of the house, comes down the chimney and delivers toys to the family. He then departs, calling out as he flies away the famous closing line: "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

A Christmas classic for two centuries, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" was claimed by author Clement C. Moore in 1837 and is presented here in its original and unabridged form, complete with illustrations by the artist Jessie Willcox Smith, which were published with a new edition of the poem in 1912.