Christmas is a celebration of life. Why, then, are so many in America actively against Christmas? They want “Happy Holidays” – not “Merry Christmas”. They claim that the Constitution of the United States of America separates all religious voice or action from being expressed in government, or even public business. Yet the authors of our Constitution penned this statement: “…done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth..” (bold emphasis is mine). “In the Year of our Lord…” is a direct acknowledgment of Christmas, the birth of our Lord, and the commencement of the year count that today is “the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-one.
This new constitution, accepted by all thirteen States, provided for a President to administer the new government. The people unanimously selected George Washington as the first President. He had successfully served as the General of the troops in the War of Independence, and had been urged by some to immediately accept the Kingship of America at the conclusion of the war, which he firmly rejected. Many leaders in Europe fully expected him to accept kingship. When these leaders learned that George Washington was planning to resign his commission and return to private life, their general statement was this: “If he does that and does not become king, he will be the most extraordinary man in history.” To the surprise of all Europe, George Washington resigned his commission on the 23rd of December, 1783, so that he could be home for Christmas.
This author has a copy of that resignation written in George Washington’s own hand. It is a treasure to hold this document and to read the words that reveal the character of this humble servant. It also reveals the dependency that the General felt toward God and His Son born on Christmas day. After expressing his gratitude to Congress and to his troops, especially his faithful generals serving under him, he made this special acknowledgement, “I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my Official life, by commending the Interests of our dearest Country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping.”
The General, in his last solemn act, commended his nation into Almighty God’s hands, and he also placed those who would have charge of this nation into God’s holy keeping. That would include those who today believe they are in charge. (Most of them won’t be happy to learn that they were placed in God’s holy keeping by General George Washington.) Then, after serving two terms as President and refusing to take another term, President George Washington gave his farewell address to Congress in 1796. At the conclusion of his address he said, “…In reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend.” Here, President Washington recognizes the possibility he has made a few mistakes during his administration, but publically requests that Almighty God mitigate any such mistakes and their affects. Not only did Washington, as the General and as the first President, acknowledge and enjoy the celebration of Christmas, he also rested his nation in God’s hands and sought God’s favor in correcting human errors so that the administration of his nation’s government would not stray from the oversight of God and His Son Jesus. Would be the administrations of today humbly acted out the same character and believed in the same Holy Care.
During the second year of our Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation in honor of President George Washington. In that proclamation he recommended that the People of the United States gather in public places to “celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Father of his Country, by causing to be read to them his immortal Farewell Address.” In these gatherings on February 22, 1862, the people of our nation heard these words: “I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend.” President Lincoln, by causing the nation’s people to hear these words, reminded his nation that the God of Christmas could correct the evils into which their leaders mistakenly, or purposely, lead them. In this author’s blog entry some years ago we learned about the life-altering decision President Lincoln later made at Gettysburg: “But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.” President Lincoln unabashedly wrote that he had consecrated his life to the Christ of Christmas.
We have seen clearly that the Presidents of the Eighteenth Century and the Nineteenth Century believed in the Christ of Christmas, and called on God and His Son, Jesus Christ, to lead and protect this great nation. What about the Presidents of the Twentieth Century? Did they celebrate the Christ of Christmas?
Every President in the Twentieth Century celebrated Christmas in the White House. Some more than others, but all enjoyed the Christmas celebration and many showered gifts with Christmas greetings upon their staff and close friends. But war was thrust upon President Franklin D. Roosevelt just before the Christmas of 1941. In his message to the American people at the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony that year he said:
“There is another preparation demanded of this Nation beyond and beside the preparation of weapons and materials of war. There is demanded also of us the preparation of our hearts; the arming of our hearts. And when we make ready our hearts for the labor and the suffering and the ultimate victory which lie ahead, then we observe Christmas Day—with all of its memories and all of its meanings—as we should. Looking into the days to come, I have set aside a day of prayer, and in that Proclamation I have said: ‘The year 1941 has brought upon our Nation a war of aggression by powers dominated by arrogant rulers whose selfish purpose is to destroy free institutions. They would thereby take from the freedom-loving peoples of the earth the hard-won liberties gained over many centuries. The new year of 1942 calls for the courage and the resolution of old and young to help to win a world struggle in order that we may preserve all we hold dear. We are confident in our devotion to country, in our love of freedom, in our inheritance of courage. But our strength, as the strength of all men everywhere, is of greater avail as God upholds us. Therefore, I… do hereby appoint the first day of the year 1942 as a day of prayer, of asking forgiveness for our shortcomings of the past, of consecration to the tasks of the present, of asking God’s help in days to come. We need His guidance that this people may be humble in spirit but strong in the conviction of the right; steadfast to endure sacrifice, and brave to achieve a victory of liberty and peace.’ Our strongest weapon in this war is that conviction of the dignity and brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies-more than any other day or any other symbol.”
World War II ended shortly after the death of President Roosevelt, so it was President Harry Truman who spoke at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the close of 1945: “This is the Christmas that a war-weary world has prayed for through long and awful years. With peace come joy and gladness. The gloom of the war years fades as once more we light the National Community Christmas Tree.” In the following years as President, Truman gave out gifts with “Merry Christmas from The President and Mrs. Truman” imprint, but his Christmas Day was most often spent at his home in Independence, Missouri, in quiet reflection before the Christ of Christmas.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the winning General of WWII, was also an artist. His paintings of Washington and Lincoln were used on Christmas cards from the White House (recognizing them as God-led Presidents), along with the imprint “Merry Christmas”. On December 24, 1953, the first televised lighting of the National Tree included an address from President Eisenhower. He said in part:
“This evening’s ceremony, here at the White House, is one of many thousands in America’s traditional celebration of the birth, almost 2,000 years ago, of the Prince of Peace. For us, this Christmas is truly a season of good will–and our first peaceful one since 1949. Our national and individual blessings are manifold. Our hopes are bright even though the world still stands divided in two antagonistic parts. More precisely than in any other way, prayer places freedom and communism in opposition, one to the other. The Communist can find no reserve of strength in prayer because his doctrine of materialism and statism denies the dignity of man and consequently the existence of God. But in America, George Washington long ago rejected exclusive dependence upon mere materialistic values. In the bitter and critical winter at Valley Forge, when the cause of liberty was so near defeat, his recourse was sincere and earnest prayer. From it he received new hope and new strength of purpose out of which grew the freedom in which we celebrate this Christmas season. As religious faith is the foundation of free government, so is prayer an indispensable part of that faith. Tonight, richly endowed in the good things of the earth, in the fellowship of our neighbors and the love of our families, would it not be fitting for each of us to speak in prayer to the Father of all men and women on this earth, of whatever nation, and of every race and creed–to ask that He help us–and teach us–and strengthen us–and receive our thanks…. Might we not pray that He teach us? Teach us to shun the counsel of defeat and of despair of self-pride and self-deceit. Teach us, and teach our leaders, to seek to understand the problems and the needs of all our people…. Teach us to require of all those who seek to lead us, these things: integrity of purpose; the upright mind, selfless sacrifice, and the courage of the just. Teach us trust and hope and self-dependence. Teach us the security of faith. And may we pray that He strengthen us. Strengthen us in understanding ourselves and others–in our homes, in our country, and in our world…. Lastly, should we not pray that He receive our thanks? For certainly we are grateful for all the good we find about us; for the opportunity given us to use our strength and our faith to meet the problems of this hour. And on this Christmas Eve, all hearts in America are filled with special thanks to God that the blood of those we love no longer spills on battlefields abroad. May He receive the thanks of each of us for this, His greatest bounty–and our supplication that peace on earth may live with us, always.”
Like our first president, President Eisenhower was a president on his knees, and from his messages to the American people at Christmas time, we understand that he was a president that believed fully in the Christ of Christmas. He sought the wisdom of heaven and led our nation to remember that the Babe in a manager was the Christ of “peace on earth”.
President John F. Kennedy had his presidency cut short by an assassin’s bullet. Yet the Kennedys did much to elevate the celebration of Christmas in the White House. In 1961 their Christmas cards held the imprint: “The President and Mrs. Kennedy wish you a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.” In 1962 Mrs. Kennedy invited the American people into the White House by the means of television, and thus encouraged the celebration of Christmas throughout the nation.
No President in the Twentieth Century refrained from acknowledging the Christ of Christmas. Some sought him on their knees and encouraged others to do the same, while others simply spoke of Him as the One who provides “peace on earth”. The result has been the continued blessings upon our nation from the One announced as providing “peace on earth, good will to men”. But what about our present Twenty-first Century? How have the leaders of our nation remembered the Christ of Christmas in the century of today?
President George W. Bush and his White House were already preparing for the celebration of Christmas when two planes flew into the twin towers and a third crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The scripture, which would have appeared on the insert in the White House Christmas card, was replaced with Psalm 27:3 after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Psalm read,“Though a host should encamp against me, I shall not fear; though war shall rise against me, in this I will be confident.” Also included from the same Psalm, above the holiday greeting, were verses 8 and 13, “Thy face, Lord, do I seek”, and “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” The greeting read, “May happiness be yours during this season of goodwill and may the New Year bring peace on Earth. 2001.”
In 2002, the Scripture from Psalm 100, verse 5, was used: “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” A scripture adorned the White House Christmas card every year, specially selected by President and Mrs. Bush to reflect how the God of Christmas had led them and the nation that year. The last two years were significant. In 2007 the Bible verse selected for the cards was Nehemiah 9:6: “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all that their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” The greeting on the card read, “May the joy of all creation fill your heart this blessed season.” In 2008, their last year in the White House, the painting on the card showed a Christmas wreath with a red bow hung from the black wrought-iron balcony railing, with two of the mansion’s white marble Ionic columns and the roof of the colonnade being visible. The Bible verse included was Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The words of the Christ of Christmas, Jesus, was the last Bible Truth President Bush used to celebrate Christmas in the nation’s house.
The first year President and First Lady Michelle Obama resided in the White house the White House Christmas card contained no mention of the word “Christmas” anywhere on the front or inside of their card. The front of the card was cream-colored with a gold wreath surrounding a gold presidential coat of arms and contained a maroon border, and displayed the words “Season’s Greetings,” with “2009” centered below. On the inside the good wishes offered to the Presidential Christmas cards’ recipients was: “May your family have a joyous holiday season and a new year blessed with hope and happiness.” There was no printing of a biblical passage, nor was there an artist’s depiction of Christmas decorations in one of the rooms in the White House (which was true of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s selections). Christmas was absent from the Obama’s White House Christmas card.
The present leadership in Washington has, for the last few years, been on a quest to deny the biblical principles pointedly expressed by the Christ of Christmas. While the founding leadership of our nation spoke boldly of the need to seek the wisdom and guidance of the King of Heaven, the leaders of our nation today seem intent on surgically removing God and His Son, Jesus Christ, from both the halls of government and the main street of America. While the blessings of God guided and provided for our nation when leaders invoked His wisdom, the blessings of heaven are rare amidst the physical devastation experienced by the people in the once land-of-plenty “from shore to shore”. If we do not seek His guidance, His wisdom, His provision, or His blessing, and we cut the Christ of Christmas from the celebration designed to remember Him and His gift of life, how can we then blame Him for the trouble we receive. In a world where mountains of trouble have always and still flow, it is in a nation’s interest to seek the One who can shield a nation from that horrendous and poisonously troublesome flow. America has been a shielded nation for centuries because most of our leadership sought the care of the shielding Christ, but if we today do not return to seeking Him with repentant hearts, we can expect His protective shield no longer. Does the Christ of Christmas belong in the White House? He belongs and is needed, not only in the White House, but in every house in America.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.Psalms 25:5
For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me. Psalms 31:3