A Visit from St. Nicholas history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors. "A Visit from St. Nicholas" eventually was set to music and has been recorded by many artists. On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a father awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, he sees Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) in an air-borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After landing his sleigh on the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack of toys with him. The father watches
The Nightingale: A Conversation Poem to his childhood home at Ottery and then went to visit William and Dorothy Wordsworth. It was during this time that Coleridge wrote "Fears in Solitude: Written in April 1798, During the Alarm of an Invasion". The poem was included in a joint publication with William Wordsworth called "Lyrical Ballads", which first appeared in 1798 (see 1798 in poetry). Originally, Coleridge intended to place "Lewti or the Circassian Love-chaunt" in the collection. "The Nightingale" was published in seven other editions but was altered little. The poem begins with Milton's line in "Il Penseroso" about nightingales and then corrects it: The