Christmas In Chelsea with St. Nicholas

About this episode

The episode explores the origins of Santa Claus and the Christmas poem 'A Visit From St. Nicholas' at the estate of Clement Clarke Moore in Chelsea, New York City.

From Desert Oracle Radio, this is The Eldritch Republic , our new series about America’s strange history & uncanny folklore. Tonight we visit the beautiful country estate of Clement Clarke Moore, the big house called "Chelsea" where he read his Christmas poem to the family. The poem is "A Visit From St. Nicholas," and the country estate is now the neighborhood of Chelsea, New York City. Santa Claus, it turns out, is a New York City native. He was created from old Dutch traditions of St. Nicholas and Sinterklaas, by NYC boosters and literary men such as Clement C. Moore, Washington Irving and John Pintard. Written and hosted by Ken Layne, with soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Desert Oracle Radio © ℗ 2017-2025 https://DesertOracle.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracle See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Ken Layne

Topics covered

• Christmas
• folklore
• history
• New York City
• Clement Clarke Moore
• St. Nicholas

Keywords

• Christmas
• St. Nicholas
• Clement Clarke Moore
• New York City
• folklore
• history
• Santa Claus

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: A Visit From St. Nicholas

Places: Chelsea, New York City

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