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Heritage Foundation
Christmas With
the Presidents
Lee Edwards
December 21, 2016
Christmas is a time of celebration and coming together, of letting go
of old—and not so old—hurts and looking forward to a new day and a new
year.
It is a time to remember the ancient proverb, “It is better to light a
candle than to curse the darkness.” And this year, it is a prime
opportunity to give thanks for a “tree of candles”—the White House
Christmas tree—and what it has meant to Americans through the years.
George Washington set the standard in most things as our first
president, but he was not the first chief executive to celebrate
Christmas in the White House for a simple reason: Construction of the
White House was not finished until after he left office in March 1797.
Nevertheless, he and Mrs. Washington entertained family, friends, and
colleagues at Christmas time during the eight seasons he was our
president.
Washington’s most unusual Christmas came in December 1776, when he was
the commander in chief of the Continental Army and not yet president.
In the dead of night and with a heavy snow falling, he crossed the
Delaware River on Christmas Day with a small force and marched on
Trenton, New Jersey, where he surprised and captured some 1,000 Hessian
troops and commandeered badly needed supplies.
The surprise attack at Trenton was a turning point of the war and let
the British know that the Americans had just begun to fight.
Succeeding presidents were able to celebrate Christmas in a less
militant manner. President John Adams and Abigail Adams held the first
White House Christmas party in December 1800, inviting the children of
official Washington to a party for their 4-year-old granddaughter,
Suzannah.
Ever the populist, President Andrew Jackson hosted an elaborate
“frolic” in 1834 for the children of his household, complete with
games, dancing, a multi-course dinner, and an indoor snowball fight
with cotton balls.
President Benjamin Harrison erected the first Christmas tree in the
White House in 1889, while President Grover Cleveland added electric
lights five years later.
Reflecting his ebullient personality, President Theodore Roosevelt in
1903 hosted a “carnival” for 500 children, which included dinner,
dancing, entertainment, souvenirs, and an ice cream dessert in the
shape of Santa Claus.
President Calvin Coolidge was the first chief executive in 1923 to
preside over the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on the
Ellipse behind the White House.
In the 1927 ceremony, Coolidge—a more eloquent president than he is
generally given credit for—remarked that Christmas was not a time or a
season, but “a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be
plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
Sometimes that spirit has been sorely tested. In 1944, when Allied
forces were engaged in a two-front war against Nazi Germany and
Imperial Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said:
The Christmas spirit lives tonight in the bitter cold of the front
lines in Europe and in the heat of the jungles and swamps of Burma and
the Pacific islands. Even the roar of our bomber fighters in the air
and the guns of our ships at sea will not drown out the messages of
Christmas which come to the hearts of our fighting men.
In December 1962, barely a month after the Cuban missile crisis and the
possibility of a nuclear conflict had been peacefully resolved,
President John F. Kennedy spoke of a “perilous” year in which reason
had finally prevailed. “As a result,” he said, “we may talk at this
Christmas, just a little bit more confidently of peace on earth, good
will to men.”
In 1961, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the custom of selecting a
theme for the White House Christmas tree by decorating with a
Nutcracker motif.
In 2008, first lady Laura Bush chose “A Red, White and Blue Christmas,”
while first lady Michelle Obama announced in 2010 a White House
Christmas theme of “Simple Gifts,” explaining that “the greatest
blessings are the ones that don’t cost a thing: the time that we spend
with our loved ones, the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, and the joy we
feel from reaching out to those in need.”
We turn for a last word to President Ronald Reagan, who said in 1981
that “Christmas means so much because of one special child. But
Christmas reminds us that all children are special, that they are gifts
from God, gifts beyond price that mean more than any presents money can
buy.”
Echoing Coolidge, Reagan said that Christmas was “a state of mind …
found throughout the year whenever faith overcomes doubt, hope conquers
despair, and love triumphs over hate.”
With a little catch in his voice, the president ended his Christmas
message from the Oval Office by quoting Charles Dickens in “A Christmas
Carol”: “God bless us, every one.”
Amen.
Read this and other articles at the Daily Signal
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