Lincoln’s Christmas in the White House (Special Edition 2019)
No Tree. No Cards. Few gifts. And, the President worked all day. Not unusual at all during the Civil War.
Historians have dissected every aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s life looking for reasons for certain of his behaviors and traditions; 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. One wrote, in an over-reach, that his “melancholy or depression” peaked at the holidays, as he reflected on friends and family who had died in his earlier years. There are even critics who claim that he used work as an excuse to get away from his difficult wife. Actually, these are all unfair characterizations of the man, disguised as historical explanations. Actually, the reasons for his Christmas schedules and habits are not very complicated.
Foremost, 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.
Further, sending and receiving Christmas cards was not yet wide-spread, and any written Christmas sentiment was usually in the form of personal notes to close friends and family. And gift giving, if any, was usually for children.
But Lincoln’s experiences in his early years also affected his Christmas traditions. He had lived in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, until he became President, at the age of 52. That area 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. Even by the 1850s, in Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln, by then a successful lawyer, lived with his wife Mary and their sons, there were few Christmas trees, not many people sent holiday cards, and few gifts were exchanged.
Certainly, before he became President in 1861, the previous Christmas holidays in the Lincoln home were happier, but still restrained; which, in many ways, reflected the regional customs. The Lincolns did not send out Christmas cards (although both wrote a few letters to friends and family), nor did they have a decorated tree; but they may have had a wreathe with a candle, a custom that was gaining favor at the time. They did give small Christmas gifts to their children, usually fruit and nuts and possibly a book or game; certainly nothing excessive, but enough to satisfy young boys back then. Those gifts may have been placed in a “stocking hung with care” as the poem now called The Night before Christmas was very popular. Mrs. Lincoln, who appreciated the formalities of a prescribed religious service, insisted the family attend a Christmas service at local church. Lincoln enjoyed Christmas 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’s 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. 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.
December 25, 1861, was the Lincoln family’s first Christmas in the White House. Since that last Christmas in Illinois, war had indeed struck the country and his close friend, Edward Baker, who had introduced Lincoln at the Inauguration event, was now dead, just one of the many casualties of the Civil War. Therefore, it was a solemn White House, even with two young boys, Willy and Tad, who would run through the halls, and engage 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. Social activities were almost non-existent, since Mrs. Lincoln did not have many friends in Washington. Both she and her husband were considered outsiders by the long-entrenched congressional leaders, judges, and career bureaucrats who were considered the Washington elite.
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. Young 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.
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.
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 passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution 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. 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. 1864 was probably the closest to a “normal” Christmas in the Lincoln White House.
Unfortunately, it would be Abraham Lincoln’s last. The President was assassinated less than four months later.
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, he could not fully enjoy the special holiday season.
But, shouldn’t we? Perhaps, for a few days anyway, we can even set aside some matters that divide us. After all, Abraham Lincoln left us with many examples of reconciliation, a legacy from which we can learn and, at least, try to follow.