'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring — well, you know the rest. It’s the classic poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” also known as “The Night Before ...

As far as classic Christmas Eve activities go, nothing beats reading the “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem with a crackling fireplace, twinkling tree and jolly carols playing in the background.

It is one of the most famous poems in the English language—almost as famous as Christmas itself. A single word is enough to get going: “‘Twas”. You know the rest, or probably quite a bit of it.

I wrote a story for Sunday's paper about a new book called “Christmas in Illinois,” edited by James Ballowe. You can read all about the book in Sunday's paper, but in short, it's an extensive ...