By Bonnie Brown
Columnist

Here we are at the countdown to Christmas where the stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. At least that’s the way it goes in “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Did you know that this poem’s authorship is in question? According to huffpost.com, the poem has been attributed to both Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston Jr. over the years.

Regardless of who actually penned this classic, it was definitely first published on Dec. 23, 1823, in the Troy Sentinel newspaper in upstate New York.

It wasn’t until 1837 (or another report that it was actually in 1844) that Clement Clarke Moore accepted credit for writing the poem. He had wanted to keep his authorship a secret because he was a professor, and the poem wasn’t considered to be very scholarly.

So where does that leave Mr. Livingston? Well, it seems there have been multiple extensive studies as to who actually authored the poem, but the mystery remains.

What is abundantly clear is that the poem paints a lovely picture of Christmas Eve preparations, the children’s anticipation and excitement, along with the role of Santa and his reindeer.

While there’s a lot of information about Santa Claus and photographic portrayal about him, there is not much information about Mrs. Claus.

What I have been able to find out about her is that she and Santa have been together for a very long time. She bakes cookies for the elves and helps in the design of new toys. Mrs. Claus also helps to take care of the reindeer. She makes sure the reindeer have adequate exercise and keeps them in tip-top shape.

After all, she can’t have Rudolph gaining a lot of weight and dragging down the sleigh. She also helps Santa decide who goes on the naughty and nice lists.

I was in Kroger the other day when I passed by a young lady and smiled at her. She returned the smile and as I passed by, I heard her say something. I turned back and said, “Excuse me, did you say something?”

To which she replied, “I wonder if anyone has ever told you that you look like Mrs. Claus?” I giggled and said, “No, but I take that as a compliment and will work on that.”

As I thought about this lovely exchange, it occurred to me that I do bake cookies, I do help take care of our dog Carly. I make suggestions about what I think would be fun toys (fewer electronics and more hands-on stuff).

I’m always telling Tom my opinions of who is naughty or nice. Is it possible that I’m married to Santa Claus?

Tom is, after all, very organized, very wise, a bit mysterious and always generously gifting to others. And he reads this poem to the grandchildren each Christmas with a twinkle in his eye and a showing of grey stubble on his chin.

Hmmm…Merry Christmas to All!