Secular Christmas stories man with supernatural powers living at the North Pole, much like magic and powerful characters in mythology: Santa Claus has supernatural powers and uses them to magnanimously deliver gifts to children around the world. Santa was based on the legends of Saint Nicholas. Santa was given an amplified mythological identity in the Clement Moore poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (the title of which is often misidentified as "Twas The Night Before Christmas.") Comparative mythologies have also noted the ancient Germanic myths of Thor driving a cart led by goats in the sky (which led to the folklore of the
Clement Moore Butler Richard Channing Moore, Bishop of Virginia. Clement Moore Butler Clement Moore Butler (1810–1890) was an Episcopal clergyman who served as Chaplain of the Senate (1850–1853). Clement Moore Butler was born on October 16, 1810, in Troy, New York, the son of David Butler and Chloe Jones Butler. He graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in 1833, and the General Theological Seminary, New York, in 1836. Butler was ordained by Bishop Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk in June 1837. The wagon journey the evening before was not without incident, as the Bishop made improper advances toward Mrs. Butler. She was one of a