St. Nicholas

Many know and enjoy the poem, A Vist from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore, 1779-1863.

The Latin & Greek Study Groups provide the below vocaulatuy building variant which I prefer.

‘Twas the Nox Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Chrismas and all through the domus
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mus.
Liberi were tucked away in their lecta,
Some in their pallia and some in tunica.
While mater worked late in her little culina
Pater was down at the corner taberna.
The stockings were hung magna cum cura
In hope that St. Nicholas would feel obligatus
To bring all the children, bonique malique,
A nice batch of dulcia and other nice nugae.
Then out in the yard there arose such tumultus
That I jumped to my feet like a frightened legatus.
I ran to the window and looked extra, foris
And who in the world do you think quis erat?
St. Nicholas in a sleigh and a big red petasus
Came dashing along like a crazy pirata.
And pulling his sleigh instead of renones
Were eight cute asini flying like aves.
I watched as they came and this quaint little senis
Shouted and whistled and called nominatim:
“Come Cursor, Come Sultator, Exsultor Vulpesque
On Cometes, Cupido, Tonitrus Fulmenque!”
Then standing erect with hand on stomachum
He flew to the top of our very own tectum.
His round little belly shook like a bowl of gelatum
As he stuggled to squeeze down our old compluvium
Then huffing and puffing at last in our atrium
With soot smeared all over his bright red toga
He filled all the stockings with lovely ornata
For none of the liberi had been very pessimi.
Then chuckling out loud, seeming very contentus,
He turned like a flash and was gone like the ventus.
And I heard him exclaim as he drove through the caelum

“Felix Natalis Christi to all and to all Bona Nox!”