Clement Clarke Moore wrote his immortal poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, for his family on Christmas Eve 1822 .. he never intended that it be published, but a family friend, Miss Harriet Butler, learned of the poem sometime later from Moore's children .. she copied it into her album, and submitted it to the editor of the Troy (New York) Sentinel where it made its first appearance in print on December 23, 1823 .. soon, the poem began to be reprinted in other newspapers, almanacs and magazines, and books .. it is now, the most published, read, memorized and collected book in all of Christmas literature..