The Night Before Christmas

This poem was published anonymously in 1823. It’s such a Christmas staple that it’s hard to imagine how ground-breaking it was, but the simple plot – a family sleeps on Christmas Eve while the father hears a noise outside and sees Santa Claus in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer – was the first to set that quintessential Christmas scene. A friend of the author was charmed by the poem and sent it anonymously to a New York newspaper. The author finally owned up to it in 1837, confessing that as a Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature, he had… show more.

My children are eleven and eight, so we still read to him at bedtime, and we did to her until fairly recently. I love this book. It’s so atmospheric. It’s the only way I can remember the names of Santa’s reindeer. The kids are bored of it. Dad! Not again!

Fascinated and curious I was—when mosaic artist Christine Brallier introduced her rendition of The Night Before Christmas in 2013. The 15 stained glass panels she designed and pieced together over nearly 5 years became the illustrations for the timeless Clement Moore poem. 

Dazzled and speechless I was—when the book arrived. Christine Brallier’s vibrant, whimsical, and quilt-like mosaics infuse a down-home warmth into this electric poem. Her beloved cat even has a cameo spot on several pages. This unique and beautiful book continues to sit on the edge of my brain. It’s a perfect gift for families with inquisitive young children… show more.