Great People, Small Stories (All New Edition)

Author: Ma Jing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: In the hands of a European writer, St. Nicholas supported the American Revolution. American writer Washington Irving used the Dutch St. Nicholas to compare the patriotic and self-reliant Dutch Americans with the effete British. In his book "The History of the Dutch Immigrant Descendants," the St. Nicholas described by Irving is not the traditionally solemn protector of travelers or the patron saint who rewards good children. Instead, he is very much like the Dutch immigrants—a cheerful, plump little figure driving a reindeer-pulled sleigh across the sky. The description of this smiling, cheerful, and mischievous little figure later became the image of Santa Claus in the most famous St. Nicholas stories today. A very famous poem about St. Nicholas was written by Dr. Clement Clarke Moore for his children. He read the poem to his children on December 22, 1822. That night, a visitor loved the poem so much that he copied it down and published it in a small newspaper the following year, in 1823, during the Christmas season. Soon, the poem was printed across the United States during Christmas. Dr. Moore titled his poem "St. Nicholas Visits," but it soon became famous for its line, "It was the night before Christmas." The St. Nicholas described in this poem is, like the one described by Washington Irving, a small, cheerful, mischievous, and plump figure driving a sleigh across the sky, pulled by eight equally small reindeer, filled with gifts. P27