Whether you’re a die-hard Santa believer or not, Clement Moore’s ‘The Night Before Christmas’ is sure to stir your blood.  There’s just something about the cadence of the poem that sweeps you up and leaves you poised on the edge of a rooftop, waiting to hear more.  I loved this version illustrated by Tom Browning, who is apparently known as the artist Santa himself would pick if he were to sit for a portrait.

I just love the feeling of light in the images!

Of course, for me hearing The Night Before Christmas will always bring back memories of the time our neighbors car started itself and ran off across their backyard, smashing the fence before coming to a stop.

Yes, really.

It wasn’t Christmas time, or even winter.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it was the middle of the summer.  At any rate, the window had been left open on the car when the sprinklers came on and the car had been left in neutral.  Somehow these two things worked together to allow the car to jolt its way over the small rise at the end their driveway and began to roll.  If you’re taking notes and plan to recreate the scene, my mechanics might be wrong about this, as I was only a child.  But I’m quite sure of the rest–that the car trundled through the backyard and took out a large section of the fence before coming to a stop.

We children were quite impressed with this feat, as I think the adults were, too, once they’d gotten over the shock and counted the kids to make sure no one was hurt.  And somehow the best words to express this neighborhood event were ‘When out on the lawn their arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter’ and so on.  You see what a versatile creature this poem is!  Able to commemorate events all the way from Santa sightings to upstart cars.

 “I think you made that story up.  I’m quite experienced with cars, and include many among my friends.  They have such lovely warm hoods, you know.  And none of my car friends would have the ill grace to smash into a fence.  Not even if their foolish humans left the sprinkler on.

However, I will grants you that the Night Before Christmas Story has a nice ring to it.  Especially that bit about a long winter’s nap.  Excuse me know–I think mine is overdue.”

Well, that just goes to show that my cat doesn’t know her car friends as well as she thinks, doesn’t it?  But then, she’d probably greet St. Nick with a hiss and a scratch if he dared come down her chimney, despite the fact that he delivered the very chair she loves to snooze in.  Which prompts a somewhat random question–do you include your pets in the Christmas morning fun?  We generally do, though the cat and dog often have to share a stocking.  Thankfully so far no fur has flown over that decision!

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