Christmas is approaching, the first that many African Americans will experience in freedom. Yet Christmas, of pagan origins and still considered popish or pagan by most Baptists, is not yet celebrated in Baptist churches, North or South, black or white. One church in Richmond, Virginia, however, will be celebrating an entirely different occasion on Christmas…
This is a Christmas day unlike any other. The image of the modern, portly Santa Claus as drawn by Thomas Nast is less than two years old. Baptists do not yet celebrate Christmas in a religious sense, as the holiday is considered popish and paganish. Nor is the day celebrated publicly en masse. For some…
One year after Thomas Nast’s first illustration of Santa Claus appears in Harpers Weekly, Christmas, a day that is not yet universally celebrated in America, is haltingly acknowledged throughout the North and South. In Washington, D.C., U.S. President Abraham Lincoln works today as usual, believing that taxpayers expect such of him. Lincoln’s activities today include…