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Show Santa Claus Born In Famous Poem By Clement Moore Santa Claus was born in NYw York on a snowy December ; ;i;' 120 years ago. He sprang full grown, clad in red and white, n;U eight reindeer and a sleigh, fn n the mind of Dr. Clement Clark.-Moore Clark.-Moore when he wrote his f;.n:ntis poem, "A Visit From St. Nicr. !as " The legend of St. Nicholas h;; , come to the New world wi'ii the Dutch settlers In the Sevrfee"',! i century. Gradually the n -e . f that figure became San Nikl.u.s at i later Santa Claus. There are several explanau n.-, t how Santa Claus happened to ie born. One story tells that on Christmas Christ-mas eve, 1822, Dr. Moore ws; ben . driven to his New York hotye ;n a sleigh, and the tinkling of the bills , on the horse's harness gave hmi in- ' spiration for the verses. f Another story tells that Or. and Mrs. Moore were packing Christmas baskets for the needy and found they were one turkey short. Though it was late, Dr. Moore went out to buy another'. On his way heme with 1 the turkey under his arm he is said to have composed the poem. Dr. Moore read his poem to his children on Christmas morning. When a friend had the verses printed print-ed in a Troy, N. Y., newspaper, he denied writing them, but later admitted ad-mitted their authorship. The poem gained rapidly in popularity, pop-ularity, and the picture it painted of old Santa has endured to this day. "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; He had a broad face and little round belly That shook, when he laughed, like a bowl full of Jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right JoUy old elf, And I laughed, when I saw him, in spite of myself." |