Bishop Clement Clarke Moore of the Protestant Episcopal Church and founder of General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1817 wrote a poem for his children at Christmas in 1822 called “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” remembered as “The Night Before Christmas”. Bishop Moore was inspired by the Dutch settlers of New York who kept the tradition of SinterKlaus (Saint Nicholas) Day as a time when the saint gave gifts to children. SinterKlaus was corrupted into Santa Clause in 19th Century America and not long after the publication of Bishop Moore’s poem the figure described in the poem became the commercialized Santa Clause giver of gifts we know so well during the Christmas shopping season.