The poem commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas” is traditionally credited to Clement Clarke Moore, a New York biblical scholar and poet, who claimed authorship in 1837 after it was first published anonymously in 1823. However, some scholars and descendants of Major Henry Livingston Jr. have argued that Livingston may actually be the author, and the question of true authorship remains debated.
Traditional attribution
Most publications and reference works list Clement Clarke Moore (1779–1863) as the author of the poem originally titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Moore included it in his 1844 collection of poems, and the attribution to him went largely unchallenged during his lifetime.
The Livingston claim
Beginning in the late 19th and 20th centuries, members of Henry Livingston Jr.’s family claimed he had written the poem and recited it to his children years before its 1823 publication. Some modern textual and stylistic analyses argue that the poem’s language and verse patterns more closely resemble Livingston’s other known works than Moore’s.
Current scholarly view
There is no definitive proof that conclusively settles the dispute, so the poem is still officially and popularly credited to Moore, even as the Livingston hypothesis remains a serious minority view among researchers. Many cultural and historical institutions therefore refer to Moore as the author while acknowledging the ongoing authorship controversy.
