A Visit from St. Nicholas according to the description of Prof. Moore in his poem." Four poems including "A Visit from St. Nicholas" appeared under Moore's name in The New-York Book of Poetry, edited by Charles Fenno Hoffman (New York: George Dearborn, 1837). The Christmas poem appears on pages 217-219, credited to "Clement C. Moore." Moore stated in a letter to the editor of the New York American (published on March 1, 1844) that he "gave the publisher" of "The New-York Book of Poetry" "several pieces, among which was the 'Visit from St. Nicholas.'" Admitting that he wrote it "not for publication, but to amuse
Saint Nicholas Apollonius of Tyana", an eight-volume biography of him written in the early third century by the Greek writer Philostratus. Christian storytellers were known to adapt older pagan legends and attribute them to Christian saints. Because Apollonius's hometown of Tyana was not far from Myra, it is highly probable that many popular stories about him became attached to Saint Nicholas. Accounts of Saint Nicholas's life agree on the essence of his story, but modern historians disagree regarding how much of this story is actually rooted in historical fact. Traditionally, Nicholas was born in the city of Patara (Lycia et Pamphylia), a