Christmas With Abraham Lincoln
About the time Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, started their family, two literary events began to shape the manner in which Americans celebrated Christmas. First, a poem titled “A Visit From St. Nicholas” had been circulating anonymously for several years, but in 1837, the famous writer/poet Clement Moore admitted he was the author and the poem, under the new title of “T’was the Night before Christmas” exploded into American homes. Then, a novella, by Englishman Charles Dickens, began to affect holiday traditions in England and America. The book was originally titled “A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas” which conveyed Mr. Dickens’ wish that reading it would become as traditional as singing a rhyming Christmas carol. After all, he wrote it specifically to make a profit by selling copies over future years. Of course, it did not take long before the public just called it “A Christmas Carol.”
But, like most of us, Lincoln’s earlier experiences in his childhood also had an impact on his Christmas traditions as an adult. As a child and as a young man, he had lived in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, an area which was still considered the “frontier,” and would be until the great western migration after the Civil War. Conditions there, for most families, were simple, often harsh, and there was neither the money nor the time for frivolous traditions. By the time Abraham Lincoln and Mary were married, there were some old traditions already in place in the more western parts of the United States; such as religious services, special meals with family, and possibly a string of evergreen boughs over a door and/or hearth. It is reasonable to expect, but we do not know for certain, that by the 1840s, the Lincoln family was exposed to Mr. Moore’s poem and/or Dickens’ book, and over time, they would have accepted some of the evolving Christmas practices. While there were as yet no pre-printed Christmas cards, written holiday sentiment was often expressed in the form of personal notes to close friends and family. Stockings may have been “Hung by the Chimney with care in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there,” but gift giving, if any, was usually only for children (and, except for something in the stocking, not likely from St. Nicholas). We do know that Abraham and Mary loved their children and we can presume that the Christmas holidays were a special time for their family. Certainly, before he became President in 1861, the previous Christmas holidays in the Lincoln home were happier. Lincoln enjoyed holiday activities with his family and he relished sharing time with friends. He was a popular lawyer and politician, and he and Mary participated in various social functions, during the Christmas period, in their home and at the homes of friends and political acquaintances. All in all, Christmas, at the Lincoln Springfield home, was quite normal for that period, and in that place.
During the Christmas holiday in 1860, the family was still living in Springfield. A month earlier, in November, Lincoln had won the national election to become the sixteenth President of the United States, but would not be inaugurated until the following March. Civil War was being discussed and South Carolina had already declared secession from the Union, with several other Southern states expected to follow; however, there was still hope that war could somehow be avoided. The Lincolns held a Christmas Eve reception in their home and many of their acquaintances stopped by, including one of Lincoln’s oldest friends and confidants, Congressman Edward Baker, who Lincoln had asked to introduce him at the coming Inauguration ceremony. Then, the following March, Abraham Lincoln became the President of the United States; and about one month later, the Civil War, which he dreaded so much, began.
And, his Christmases would never again be the same.
Historians have dissected every aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s life looking for reasons for certain of his behaviors; and many have opined about his seemingly austere Christmases as President. Some suggest that Lincoln was concerned with his public image and did not want to appear involved in trivial activities in the midst of a brutal war. Others have written that he rejected most religious rituals and always lacked interest in Christmas. Another wrote, in an over-reach, that his “melancholy or depression” peaked at the holidays. There are even critics who claim that he used work as an excuse to get away from his difficult wife. These are actually unfair characterizations of the man, disguised as historical explanations. It is true that, during the Civil War, there was no tree in the White House, no special engraved cards, few gifts, and, the President worked all day on Christmas; however, the reasons for his Christmas schedules and habits when he was President are not very complicated and, I believe, easy to understand and explain.
Foremost, during his four years as Commander-in-Chief, Abraham Lincoln wore the heavy duty of Presidential responsibility like a leaden cloak; it enveloped him and he could only rarely take it off. However, this was self-imposed, not due to any concerns about perceptions by his critics. To him, there was a destructive war tearing the country apart, young men were dying, and there were daily decisions to be made; and, ultimately, he was the one in charge.
However, there were also practical reasons that the Lincoln White House did not have a tree, and that the Lincolns did not send cards or give many gifts for Christmas.
First, the placement of large Christmas trees in homes and public places was not a universal custom in the United States during the mid-1800s; more likely found in the northeastern regions and in settlements with a significant German or Scandinavian presence. Even if an ever-green tree had been desired by Lincoln, or any of his Presidential predecessors, it would not have lasted very long. The White House was more open to the public (and relatively unguarded) in those days and White House “visitors” were already notorious for cutting snips from curtains and carpets and stealing any small trinkets; therefore, a large decorated Christmas tree in the White House would have likely been a target for the scavengers. Further, sending and receiving formal Christmas cards was not yet a wide-spread practice, and gift giving was more selective than today, even among family and close friends.
But a Civil War had started in April, 1861, and raged on!
December 25, 1861, was the Lincoln family’s first Christmas in the White House and since that last Christmas in Illinois, war had indeed struck the country. Tragically, his close friend, Edward Baker, who had introduced Lincoln at the Inauguration event, had been killed in battle. Also lost was Lieutenant Elmer Ellsworth, a young family friend, who had become one of the first to die in the war. And, these were just two of the many casualties on Lincoln’s mind that December. So, it was a solemn White House, even with his two young boys, Willy and Tad, who ran through the halls, and engaged in other rambunctiousness; and who probably longed for a happier day. Robert, the oldest son, had been away at college, but returned for a few days around Christmas. Further, social activities, which were so important to both Abraham and Mary back in Springfield, were almost non-existent for them in Washington; since Mrs. Lincoln did not have many friends in the Capital. Essentially, both she and her husband were considered outsiders by the long-entrenched congressional leaders, judges, and career bureaucrats who were the established Washington elite. And their exclusion from the established societal circles would never end.
And the War raged on for another year.
December 25, 1862, was the second Christmas the Lincoln family spent in the White House, but that year may have been the saddest of all. Their youngest son, Willy, had died in February and Mrs. Lincoln could not seem to recover. Further, the war had become a stagnated mess of death and destruction, with some Union victories, but with a devastating defeat, just before Christmas, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, only about fifty miles from Washington DC (and the White House). Three months earlier, Lincoln had announced the Emancipation Proclamation to be effective January first, 1863, and the public was split on the unilateral move the President had made. If there had been a presidential poll back then, his approval rating would have been very low. On Christmas afternoon, after a morning cabinet meeting, the President and Mrs. Lincoln visited wounded soldiers at several Washington hospitals. We can only imagine that it was a lonely Christmas for young Tad.
And the War raged on!
December 25, 1863, was their third Christmas in the White House. Mrs. Lincoln was again receiving visitors, Tad had found some new friends, and Robert visited from Harvard; however, the President was still subdued. Although the war news was better, with several major victories for the Union armies, including at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, casualties continued to mount and the President still worked through the day. Back in September, Lincoln’s brother-in-law, Benjamin Helm, a Confederate General, was killed in battle; a personal loss since Abraham and Mary were close with Benjamin and his wife, Mary’s sister Emilie. Lincoln even invited Emilie to stay with them in the White House for a while so that the two sisters could comfort each other; and he granted Emilie a pass so that she could cross Union lines into Washington. His gesture of true familial grief resulted in scathing political attacks of “giving comfort to the enemy” from some in Congress and newspaper editors. However, Lincoln simply replied that he and Mrs. Lincoln would choose their guests; and he otherwise ignored the criticism.
But the War raged on!
December 25, 1864, was their fourth Christmas in the Presidential mansion and the mood was different. President Lincoln knew that the war would not last much longer, the Confederacy would be defeated, the Union would be preserved, and slavery would soon be outlawed. (The Senate had already passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which would make slavery illegal, and he was prepared to press the House of Representatives on the issue.) Also, he had just been re-elected to a second four-year term by a wide margin of both voters and the Electoral College. He even received a welcome telegram from General William Tecumseh Sherman, announcing that Savannah, Georgia was now in Union hands, it read, “Mr. President, I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah.” Robert came home from Harvard, but worried his mother because he wanted to join the Army. (Lincoln would soon arrange a non-combat role for Robert on General Ulysses Grant’s staff). Tad, the President’s young son, who still lived in the White House, invited a group of newsboys, who sold papers around the area, to follow him home for dinner; without telling his parents. He knew his father would not mind, but he must have been at least a little concerned about his mother’s reaction; as she could be difficult at times. However, it appears that Mary Lincoln handled Tad’s surprise without drama. Over the holidays, President and Mrs. Lincoln held several receptions for Union military leaders, politicians, and foreign emissaries. With that in mind, 1864 was probably the closest to a “normal” Christmas in the Lincoln White House.
The war would rage on for another five months; and, unfortunately, 1864 would prove to be Abraham Lincoln’s last Christmas. The President was assassinated less than four months later. He was only fifty-six years old!
For most of his life, however, Abraham Lincoln had enjoyed traditional Christmas customs, as they were practiced at that time, back home in Springfield, with family and friends. But for four years in the White House, with the circumstances he faced, it seems understandable that he could not fully enjoy the special holiday season. Although, I like to think this good man, and dutiful President, tried to keep the Christmas spirit for those four years, as best he could; despite the enormous problems he faced.
Shouldn’t we be able to do so as well?
Post-script:
Had he lived; I believe that Abraham Lincoln would have had more joyful Christmases in the White House over the next four years; primarily because the Civil War had ended. The nation would have benefited from his leadership during those coming years as he would have welcomed the former Confederate states back into the Union, and would have fought against the harsh re-construction laws imposed on the South by Congress. Further, he would have guided the country through the first few years of emancipation which, I believe, would have moderated the racial injustices which still affect us today. Then, in 1869, as a private citizen, he would have moved back to Springfield, practiced law with his partner, spent time with his friends and, in December, enjoyed Christmas with his family. But it was not to be.
I wish for you and yours a peaceful holiday whatever your traditions. As for me and my family, we look forward to a Merry Christmas and a less dramatic New Year.