"Twas the night before Christmas" by Clement Clark 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;

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 our brains 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,

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 Donder 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—

As I drew in my head, 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 look’d 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;

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 bowl full 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 fill’d 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.

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

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

The United States has always reached to the higher self found with inspiration.

 

Vintage colour lithograph from 1898 showing Santa Claus and his reindeer flying through the sky. The image of Christmas we know today was popularized with the help of Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem.

Christmastime (click here) in the early-1900s was mostly observed by drinking copious amounts of alcohol and going door-to-door to raucously solicit contributions of food, money, or more drink.

Refusal often resulted in vandalism or other acts of retribution. Brian Rouleau, an associate professor of history in the Texas A&M University College of Liberal Arts, said New York writer Clement Clarke Moore hoped to end some of the disorder by evoking a more peaceful celebration when he penned “A Visit from St. Nicholas” nearly 200 years ago.

“That story served a few purposes that are lost to us today. Christmas was at one time not a family-friendly holiday,” Rouleau said. “It was most often celebrated in the streets by rowdy groups of teenagers and servants. It was considered a day where the ordinarily humble and subservient lower classes of society could engage in behavior we call ‘wassailing.’”

In perhaps the most famous Christmas poem, better known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” Moore sets a quiet, domestic scene in which “not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

Instead of rowdy wassailers banging at the door, Moore wrote of the jolly, non-threatening St. Nicholas coming down the chimney “dressed all in fur” to quietly leave presents for good girls and boys.

First published in 1823, Rouleau said the poem succeeded in popularizing the image of Santa Claus and turning Christmas into the family-centered holiday we know today.

“All of this was meant to transform Christmas into a holiday geared toward children and families, rather than the obnoxious and drunken mobs that Moore thought had corrupted the celebration,” Rouleau said.

Children’s literature has often been designed to pass a society’s core values from one generation to the next, he said, with the messaging usually intended to steer children along paths considered proper and acceptable. In the United States, many of the first children’s books were religious in nature, the product of Puritan parents seeking to prevent their offspring from sinning.

But slowly, as children’s place in society changed and views on parenting evolved, children’s literature became kinder and gentler, and themes became less explicitly spiritual. Fairy tales, talking animals, and other fantastical settings took the place of the fire and brimstone from years past. Young people were less often threatened with punishment for their transgressions. Instead, it became more common to celebrate a child’s innocence, wonder and capacity for creativity.

Though Moore’s story successfully changed the image of Christmas, Rouleau stresses the importance in understanding the resilience of children in resisting their own indoctrination.

“Literature might attempt to teach young people certain values, but this messaging isn’t always absorbed,” he said. “The most successful children’s literature often consists of stories that offer youths the opportunity to think through some problem or dilemma on their own.”

A group of persons or concerns who combine to carry out a particular transaction or project.

Donald John Trump has been known for nothing but a transactional presidency. It took becoming president to reveal the "Trump Syndicate."  He is now branded for the rest of his life and that of all his associates. They were all under the radar because of his celebrity status. None of these members of the Trump Syndicate will have peace for the rest of their lives. They tried to overthrow the government. Trump is engaged in a scheme to continue those efforts as I write this.

The Trump Syndicate is followed by Russia and it will be tapped for top security information. There absolutely is no doubt about that fact. They all need to be followed to ensure the national security of the USA.

Michael Cohen is well out of it.

December 23, 2020
By Kristine Phillips, Kevin Johnson, and David Jackson

Former Trump (click here) campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives to his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, on June 27, 2019 in New York City.

Washington - President Donald Trump (click here) pardoned his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Wednesday, making the former globe-trotting political operative the latest presidential ally to receive a grant of clemency during Trump's last days in office.

The pardon once again highlighted the long shadow cast on the White House by the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, which resulted in the prosecution of six former aides to the president. The Manafort pardon was the latest in a series given to former aides caught up in that investigation – and underscored the president's desire to deal with the fallout of that probe.

On the heels of another round of clemency just a day earlier, Trump granted pardons to 26 people on Wednesday and commuted part or all of the sentences of three more people. The move followed a tradition of presidents granting pardons – often controversial – during their remaining days in the White House....

President Donald John Trump admires those that never cooperated with prosecutors.

I think a US House of Representatives member should write to Michael Cohen's court and request a commutation of his sentence. It is the right thing to do.

September 14, 2020
By Paul Waldman

...As Trump said a few weeks ago, (click here) "one of the reasons I respect Paul Manafort so much" is that unlike other Trump aides who felt the law come down on them, Manafort never offered to cooperate with prosecutors. "I know all about flipping, for 30, 40 years I've been watching flippers," Trump said. "Everything is wonderful, and then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is or as high as you can go. It (It refers to prosecutors who are enforcing the rule of law. Given half a chance I am sure Trump would issues fines to those that did cooperate with prosecutors. Amazing to think some Americans actually believe in his belief system.) almost ought to be outlawed."...