In the Camps
Christmas Eve arrives, signaling the first war-era holiday season with many families separated by hundreds of miles and a deep chasm of anxiety. It won’t be the last. In years to come, the fortunate families are the ones struggling with separation and anxiety, rather than grief and death.
For now, though, home front family members and army officials try to put the best face they can on this unusual holiday season. Not yet commonly celebrated as a religious holiday, Christmas in America is primarily embraced as a time of rest and feasting. Gifts are exchanged in some instances, while a few speak of the Christian dimension of this ancient pagan event that had been Christianized during the glory days of the Roman Empire. Protestant churches, including Baptist congregations, largely refuse to observe the holiday because of the pagan and Roman Catholic lineage of the celebration.
Nonetheless, North and South a time of rest and good food is anticipated by many on the morrow. A newspaper notice in West Chester, Pennsylvania briefly summarizes the context of the holiday season, during this time of war, in Baptist life of the era.
“The scholars of the sabbath school connected with the First Baptist Church, design sending a Box of Provisions and Clothing to the Hospital of the 97th Regiment, under Col. Guss. They were thankfully received.”
Confederate and Union soldiers alike of the Baptist persuasion are enjoying provisions of food, clothing and other items that have steadily been arriving in recent days. Today, many soldiers think of families, write letters, enjoy recreation, and anticipate a feast of turkey and trimmings on the morrow.
Sources: First Baptist Church West Chester, Pennsylvania history (link)
