Journey through Christmases Past - A Nation Healing and Reflecting: Christmas 1865

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

The American Civil War raged from April 12, 1861, until the most recognized surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Though the country would be well into the summer of 1866 before President Andrew Johnson declared the hostilities over. With an estimated 620,000 dead, families torn apart and grieving, and the assassination of President Abraham still tender, this Christmas brought with it reflection, healing, and hope for a way to move forward toward reconstruction. 

Due to the economic devastation, Christmas gifts were simple and homemade, and the meals were more humble. Christmas in 1865 was filled with private and public remembrances.

• Church services memorialized President Lincoln and the war dead.
• Lit candles appeared in windows to symbolize lost loved ones, soldiers who had not yet returned home, and as a tribute to Lincoln.
• Though Memorial Day had not yet been established, townspeople decorated the graves of lost soldiers. 
• As a way to honor President Lincoln's legacy, families donated to charities that supported widows and orphans, disabled veterans, and Freedman relief organizations.

Though President Lincoln had declared the final Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, it would be December 1865 before the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, was ratified, ushering in the first Christmas as freed people to formerly enslaved African Americans. Close to 200,000 African American men fought for the Union, and nearly 40,000 lost their lives.  

Two well-known Christmas songs have origins in the 1860s. 

• In 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem "Christmas Bells." The widowed poet's oldest son was almost paralyzed during the war, and Longfellow wrote the words that would later be set to music and known as "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."
• After being relieved of his pastoral position due to his love of teaching children with music, Ben Hanby opened a singing school. Because he couldn't afford sheet music, he made up his own songs and lyrics. One of those songs was "Up on the Housetop" in 1864. It is widely recognized as one of the first secular Christmas songs. 

The upheaval caused by the Civil War made the holiday more significant, reminding Americans of the importance of home and traditions, which is stated by historian David Anderson in this article. In 1870, Congress passed the first federal holiday law, making Christmas an official holiday.