"A Visit from St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas" and " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823, and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who acknowledged authorship in 1837.The poem, which has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American", is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, and has had a massive impact on the history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors had varied considerably. "A Visit from St. Nicholas" eventually would be set to music and has been recorded by many artists.