<P> In An American Anthology, 1787--1900, editor Edmund Clarence Stedman reprinted the Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of "Donder and Blitzen" that he adopted, rather than the earlier Dutch version from 1823 "Dunder and Blixem ." Both phrases translate as "Thunder and Lightning" in English, though the German word for thunder is "Donner" and the words in modern Dutch would be "Donder en Bliksem ." </P> <P> Modern printings frequently incorporate alterations that reflect changing linguistic and cultural sensibilities . For example, breast in "The moon on the breast of the new - fallen snow" is frequently bowdlerized to crest; the archaic ere in "But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight" is frequently replaced with as . Note that this change implies that Santa Claus made his exclamation during the moment that he disappeared from view, while the exclamation came before his disappearance in the original . "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good - night" is frequently rendered with the traditional English locution "' Merry Christmas"' and with "goodnight" as a single word . </P> <P> Four hand - written copies of the poem are known to exist and three are in museums, including the New - York Historical Society library . The fourth copy, written out and signed by Clement Clarke Moore as a gift to a friend in 1860, was sold by one private collector to another in December 2006 . It was purchased for $280,000 by an unnamed "chief executive officer of a media company" who resides in New York City, according to Dallas, Texas - based Heritage Auctions which brokered the private sale . </P> <P> Moore's connection with the poem has been questioned by Professor Donald Foster, who used textual content analysis and external evidence to argue that Moore could not have been the author . Foster believes that Major Henry Livingston Jr., a New Yorker with Dutch and Scottish roots, should be considered the chief candidate for authorship, a view long espoused by the Livingston family . Livingston was distantly related to Moore's wife . Foster's claim, however, has been countered by document dealer and historian Seth Kaller, who once owned one of Moore's original manuscripts of the poem . Kaller has offered a point - by - point rebuttal of both Foster's linguistic analysis and external findings, buttressed by the work of autograph expert James Lowe and Dr. Joe Nickell, author of Pen, Ink and Evidence . </P>

Who said merry christmas to all and to all a goodnight