Clement C. Moore brought Santa Claus to life with his 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas."
This year, Pamela McColl is trying to reinvent the big guy.
McColl has published a slightly abridged version of Moore's "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (as it now is known), excising this: "The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath."
No, Virginia, there is no smoking in this edition of the Christmas classic.
Not surprisingly, controversy has ensued, with the American Library Association protesting and Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert labeling the act "political cor-Xmas."
Child advocate McColl says the people raising a fuss are missing the point.
"It has ignited the fire, but taken away from the goal, which is talking about tobacco," she said. "I want people to get mad at tobacco, not librarians fighting with me. All parents don't want their children to smoke, so we're all on the same page."
McColl said that 25 percent of long-term smokers start before age 10. "It is illegal to use a cartoon character to promote smoking in advertising, and here we have Santa Claus, the most influential character of all time, smoking in the middle of the living room."
