New Yorkers' Contributions to Christmas
By Laurie Lewis
After the Revolutionary War, Americans shunned English traditions, including Christmas festivities. It wasn’t until the early nineteenth century when Washington Irving, a New Yorker, wrote popular stories about warm-hearted English Christmases that Americans began to long for the holiday. Irving also wrote about St. Nicholas and the presents he brought to children, leading Americans to turn Christmas into a child-centered, family affair. Some maintain that Washington Irving almost single-handedly created the American Christmas.
A fellow New Yorker from the same period, Clement Clarke Moore, wrote a poem for his children that gave form to St. Nick. The first printing of Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (a.k.a. “’Twas the night before Christmas”) was in 1823; it was published anonymously. Forty years later, New York cartoonist Thomas Nast started drawing pictures of Santa Claus—St. Nick by another name—for Harper’s Weekly. Now nobody would have trouble picturing the jolly fat man.
After the Revolutionary War, Americans shunned English traditions, including Christmas festivities. It wasn’t until the early nineteenth century when Washington Irving, a New Yorker, wrote popular stories about warm-hearted English Christmases that Americans began to long for the holiday. Irving also wrote about St. Nicholas and the presents he brought to children, leading Americans to turn Christmas into a child-centered, family affair. Some maintain that Washington Irving almost single-handedly created the American Christmas.
A fellow New Yorker from the same period, Clement Clarke Moore, wrote a poem for his children that gave form to St. Nick. The first printing of Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (a.k.a. “’Twas the night before Christmas”) was in 1823; it was published anonymously. Forty years later, New York cartoonist Thomas Nast started drawing pictures of Santa Claus—St. Nick by another name—for Harper’s Weekly. Now nobody would have trouble picturing the jolly fat man.
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NYC's Pioneering Achievements
From its earliest days, New York has been home to many creative, inventive people. They introduced an amazing array of innovations that were the first of their kind in the nation, and even the world. Discover many of these firsts in Laurie Lewis's Twitter feed, @LLewisNYCfirsts. Presented like a trivia game, each first usually appears in a tweet on two consecutive days. The first tweet poses a question, such as "Tomorrow is the anniversary of.... Do you know what it is?" The next day, a tweet answers the question. Follow @LLewisNYCfirsts to learn about New York's pioneering achievements.
About "Take a Walk New York" Tours
We are a group of New York City licensed tour guides offering a New York experience that is beyond the standard fare. Let us take you on a walk through the greatest city in the world, and discover why New York is a place like no other.
