Big Joe Henry reads ‘The Night Before Christmas’ on the radio

I get excited with anticipation when my Christmas Eve Show comes around. It is one of my favorite shows of the year. There is such hustle and bustle of the holiday season with everybody stressing to get things done.

Christmas Eve is a time for decompression, it is a time to smile and prepare for the children, spend some quality time with friends and family and enjoy the true spirit of Christmas.

A major part of Christmas Eve here in New Jersey is my traditional reading of The Night Before Christmas. It has been a tradition for me for the past 28 years.

The poem The Night Before Christmas is filled with peace and anticipation for children getting ready for the big day. It is a sign that Santa will be there soon along with all the magic that Christmas holds.

Photo via YouTube Screengrab (New Jersey 101.5 on YouTube)

The Night Before Christmas was a poem originally titled A Visit from St. Nicholas written by Clement Clarke Moore on Christmas Eve 1822 when he was 43 years old for his children. He never intended for the poem to be published. Clement Moore lived in Manhattan and was a professor of Asian and Greek Literature and was also a Divinity student and teacher for the Episcopalian Church.

One of Moore’s children mentioned the poem to a neighbor who then got a copy of the poem, and she sent it to a New York paper which published the poem in December of 1823. After that publication other periodicals from throughout the country also published Moore’s poem and the rest is history.

It was not until 1844 when a publisher of poetry wanted to confirm the identity of the author of A Visit from St. Nicholas that Moore admitted to being the author.

Photo via Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Join me as I continue the tradition, I will be reading The Night Before Christmas between 730 and 9pm on my Big Joe Henry’s Christmas Eve Spectacular which will air live from 5 to 10 p.m. on New Jersey 101.5 radio or our station app and website for. I will take your holiday hit requests and dedications; we’ll track Santa’s progress as he makes his way here to the Great Garden State with Bob Williams taking control of the New Jersey 101.5 Santa Tracking Station.

The entire show is with limited interruptions, have a Merry Christmas and thank you for allowing me on your radio.

25 Christmas songs performed by NJ artists

If you celebrate Christmas, the next month of your life is likely going to be consumed with shopping for gifts, retrieving a tree, decorating the house, and going out on adventures to see elaborate light displays.

The one thing that you must have at the ready for all of these scenarios is Christmas music.

Since a lot of the songs you hear tend to get repetitive this time of year, why not pay homage to some of the great singers, bands, and musicians that make New Jersey's music history so rich.

Gallery Credit: Joe Votruba

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.

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