GFWC Book Lovers Study Club members stepped away from the normal club meeting in December. The theme of the meeting was Pancakes and Pajamas, which was held Dec. 14 at 9 a.m. at the home of Patricia Cox.

Serving as co-hostesses were Cheri McCain and Debbie Beason.

The members’ attire for the meeting was pajamas. Delicious pancakes, bacon, muffins, doughnuts, fruit, coffee and juice were served. Everyone enjoyed a relaxed and fun morning before they started their busy weekend schedules getting things ready for their Christmas holidays.

The program, Hats Off to a Child’s Wonder of Christmas, focused on the GFWC Junior’s Special Project Advocates for Children. The club’s project was to donate pajamas for Safeplace. Several pairs of children’s pajamas were donated by club members.

Cindy Bailey presented the history of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

According to history, the poem “The History of the Night before Christmas” also known by the name “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was written by Clement Moore on the eve of Christmas to give to his children for a Christmas present in 1822. He had no intention of publishing the poem.

Miss Harriet Butler, a friend of Clement Moore, on hearing about this poem from Moore’s children, copied the poem. After making it a part of her album, she gave it to the editor of “The Troy” – “New York Sentinel.” The poem got published in “The Troy” Dec. 23, 1823. Later on this poem came to be reprinted in various magazines as well as newspapers.

The song appeared for the first time in the book “The New York Book of Poetry” in 1837; Charles Fenno Hoffman was the editor of this book.

It was not until 1844, however, that Moore himself acknowledged authorship in a volume of his poetry titled “Poems,” published at the request of his children – and 180 years later, it is the most-published, most-read, most-memorized and most-collected book in all of Christmas literature.

Final plans for the Christmas Holiday Tour of Homes were discussed. Members approved donations for the FAME Girls’ Ranch, Breast Cancer recipients and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.