The Trial Before Christmas poster. Santa Claus over scale with two men writing at desks with quill pens. On the left is Clement Clarke More, on the right Henry Livingston Jr.

LIVINGSTON v. MOORE

Who really wrote “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”?

A juried courtroom trial aims to solve a centuries-old controversy over who really wrote one of the most beloved holiday poems in the world.


“A Visit from Saint Nicholas” a.k.a. “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was published anonymously for the first time ever by the Troy Sentinel newspaper on December 23, 1823. Clement Clarke Moore, a wealthy biblical scholar of Manhattan, later claimed authorship and has been officially credited ever since. But Henry Livingston Jr., a gentleman farmer of the Hudson Valley, may have been the true, unrecognized author, according to his descendants.

Now a Hallmark Channel movie, premiering Saturday Dec. 17, 2022


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