The ubiquity of the original poem has spawned a subset of pre-famous authors who self-publish their own re-interpretations of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. This in turn has allowed us to diversify the Nancy H. Marshall Collection and acquire works by authors of Color, predominantly featuring protagonists of Color. For example, Twas' the Night Before New Years Day, written by Deirdre Berry, a Black “phenomenal woman … and mother of a blended family,” follows a Black family as they help a mouse celebrate New Year’s Eve.

A common theme among self-published books is that they do not adhere to the central features of Moore’s poem—like Santa, the reindeer, or a family member awakened by noise outside—nor do they follow the rhyming scheme as closely as, for example, ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving. But they are important because they highlight a major shortcoming of the more mainstream publications: the absence of Black and Brown people and their traditions. It can perhaps also be reasoned that these self-published authors are using the famous ‘Twas the Night Before structure to attract readers who otherwise may have overlooked their book. 

Twas' the Night Before New Years Day (2017)

'Twas the Night Before Diwali (2020)

Night Before Election Day (2020)