Phillip Brooks was an Episcopalian preacher, he
earned a Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Oxford,
and taught at Yale University. During 1865, he rode on horseback
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, where he participated in the Church
of the Nativity's five-hour long Christmas Eve celebration.
After returning home he wrote "O
Little Town of Bethlehem." Its first public
performance was held three years later, performed by the
children's choir of his church.
Clement Clark Moore was a professor of Divinity and Literature
at a New York Episcopal college when, in 1822, he sat down to
write a Christmas poem for his family. Moore never intended for
the poem to be published. It was only at his family’s begging
that it was published a year later. "The Night Before
Christmas", poem became an immediate success. Moore created much
of our Christmas mythology. He named the reindeer, was the first
to call St. Nicolas an “elf,” the idea of Santa going from
rooftop to rooftop, and codified most every concept about Santa
entering your home to leave gifts. Much about the current legend
of Santa was influenced by his poem.