Plagiarism in Pop Culture – Hallmark’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Jonathan BaileyDecember 23, 2025

5 minutes read

Poster for the Film 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Of the 47 editions of Plagiarism in Pop Culture, the vast majority have been suggested by friends, family and readers. However, every once in a while, I find out about a TV show or film while researching another article.

That is exactly what happened to me yesterday. While researching the history of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, I learned of a Hallmark film that addressed the controversy. Most interesting of all, it’s based (loosely) around real events that take place and took place in Troy, New York.

But how well did the film, confusingly named ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, handle the controversy and the issue of plagiarism more broadly? It’s complicated. The movie got several key facts wrong but did manage to capture the overall spirit of the controversy well. It’s not perfect, but it’s not reckless either.

However, to understand the liberties it took and why, we have to go over the movie itself and understand the Trial Before Christmas.

The Plot

Content Warning: Spoilers for the Hallmark film ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (2022)

The story centers around Madison Rush, a former child actor who is trying to break into theater directing. Her goal is to make her debut in a play entitled The Trial Before Christmas at a theater in Troy, New York.

The play aims to hold a staged trial of the issue of authorship and then let an actual jury of audience members decide between Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston Jr.

However, things begin to fall apart almost immediately after she arrives in the city. Her writing partner. Hayley, has to abruptly leave, and it’s clear that they are woefully behind for a production meant to open in just ten days.

Fortunately for Madison, she recruited her old friend and co-star, Conner, to play the male lead. He steps up and immediately offers to help Madison with the play.

As the two go about preparing for the play, Madison runs into a gentleman dressed in Victorian garb who claims to be Henry Livingston Jr. Since the movie takes place during the city’s Victorian Stroll, she assumes he’s a cosplayer and asks him to play the role of Livingston’s ghost.

The ghost of Livingston — The “Ghost” of Livingston

Meanwhile, Connor meets a similar man, but this claiming to be Clement Clarke Moore. He says that Connor must put a stop Livingston’s claim and prove that he is the true author of the work.

The ghost of Clement Moore — The “Ghost” of Clement Moore

In order to impress a high-power theater producer, the group holds a dress rehearsal. During that, Moore and Livingston confront one another. Though it appears that Moore had the upper hand, Lena, the actress serving as Livingston “lawyer,” asks why he included a pipe in the poem if he abhorred smoking. Flustered, Moore storms off the play wraps up, and the producer is impressed.

It went so well that Lena ends up getting a major part in the movie and has to leave before the play, forcing Madison to step into the role opposite of Conner.

During the play’s opening, Madison attempts to call Livingston to the stand, but only Moore shows up. He explains that, even though he wrote scholarly work and was seen as a curmudgeon, that representation of him was not accurate. Further, though he did value his intellectual pursuits, he also loved his family and wanted to share Christmas with them.

Madison, understanding that people have more than one pursuit in life, understands this. The case goes to the jury, which ends deadlocked but with 9-1 in favor of Moore.

At the very end of the film Madison and Connor finally admit their feelings, and we learn that Livingston and Moore are the actual ghosts of the two men. Moore had simply tricked Livingston into not showing up by telling him about a non-existent party in Poughkeepsie. The two share a smile, promise to return next year and disappear.

Understanding the Plagiarism

Right off the bat, it’s important to note that both the Victorian Stroll and The Trial Before Christmas are real things. The Victorian Stroll is an annual event in Troy. The Trial Before Christmas was a pair of mock trials that took place during the Victorian Stroll in 2013 and 2014.

However, there were several key differences between the real trials and the film. First, the mock trials were held in an actual courtroom with real lawyers representing both sides. It was not a scripted play. Second, the first trial ended in a deadlocked jury and the second was a ruling in favor of Livingston.

You can watch the 2014 trial here.

I won’t recap the entire history around the poem since I just did that yesterday. However, it should suffice to say that the poem was originally published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel in December 1823. Though Moore would later be outed as the author and take credit for it, many feel it better fits the style and demeanor of Livingston.

The movie handled the story in a way that felt spiritually accurate, even if much of the information was incorrect or misleading.

First was Moore storming off after being confronted over his hatred of tobacco. This is a likely reference to his poem The Wine Drinker. However, the poem doesn’t actually condemn tobacco or any other indulgence. Instead, it condemns those who are hypocritical in their enjoyment of it.

Second is the repeated claim that Moore “waited for the real author” to die before claiming credit. However, this ignores two key facts. First, Livingston died in 1828 and Moore didn’t publish his collection until 1844, 16 years later. Second, Moore wasn’t the person who actually credited him with the poem. The first publication credited to Moore was in 1837, years before he acknowledged it.

Moore wasn’t waiting for Livingston to die, he simply did not want to be remembered for this poem, as unavoidable as it was.

Still, the end sequence where Moore took the stand was compelling. Moore explained, convincingly, that the accounts of him were either oversimplified or simply incorrect. That he loved his family deeply and wanted to share the joy of Christmas with them. It’s compelling both factually and emotionally.

I also felt the jury verdict was fair. Much like current consensus, the vast majority favor the arguments for Moore, but enough people remain convinced by the Livingston arguments that the case never really ends. The debate will happen again in the next year, and the next, and the next after that.

Bottom Line

The errors, ultimately, were a sacrifice to the gods of story. The whole point of the movie was to initially paint Moore as a plagiarist who stole from Livingston and then offer him redemption in the end. However, Livingston’s case simply wasn’t strong enough to produce any drama.

Worse still, the arguments for Livingston mostly center around linguistics and other issues that don’t make for great cinema. The film needed to build Livingston up more.

To be clear, these were and are arguments people still make against Moore, but they are both easily debunked and the counterarguments have been in the public discourse for a long, time before this film was made. The filmmakers simply ignored them.

Still, it is interesting that Moore didn’t debunk them during his final speech. Viewers who don’t examine the issue any further will get a false sense of how strong the case for Livingston really is. So while it was necessary for the plot, there was a clear chance to give better information, but it was missed.

Ultimately, this isn’t a film about authorship. The end message is that the poem belongs to everyone (which it does as it’s in the public domain) and that spirits were conspiring to get Madison and Conner together. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a Hallmark Christmas movie.

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