History shows that while we have been divided before, Christmas brings us together
It is during this sacred holiday season, in this pristine moment more than any other, when we long to be together once more. Regardless of our faith, the common thread of our celebration is togetherness. With great anticipation we entertain, attend events, parties, church services — all of it together. And the pandemic has reminded us just how important family and community really is. Yet remarkably, our nation is more divided now than it has been in many generations. Here we are however, amidst the division gathering to share the magic and miracle of hope. Let us contemplate the hope we may share together as we revisit midwinters past, when as a nation we stood together during this sacred season.
Atop a plateau some 18 miles north of Philadelphia, was a sea of rolling meadows aglint with a dusting of snow. In that aerial pasture, the hush of winter pervaded but for the flow of the nearby Schuylkill River. Yet the silence was broken by the march of the Continental Army led by the father of our nation to the farmlands of Valley Forge. George Washington envisioned a winter encampment defending nearby Philadelphia while reinforcing his army. An alliance of about 12,000 souls from diverse ethnic origins, converged on Dec. 19, 1777 to transform a mere field into the fourth largest city in the United States at that time. Through snow and cold, widespread illness, and scarcity of supplies, they still built 2,000 cabins and other structures. It was the enslaved and the free, the Indigenous Oneidas, Mohicans, Tuscaroras, Munsee and Stockbridge who were there. It was the lavishly rich, the abjectly impoverished, and men and women alike who comprised this band of united forebears who stood shoulder to shoulder for a common cause. Washington’s army emerged from the encampment at Valley Forge wholly transformed by rigorous training, the lessons of adversity, and their commitment to each other. Atop the snowy Pennsylvania uplands in the hush of winter so many lifetimes ago, columns of cabins row on row, stood as symbols affirming that immovable hope was yet possible. Here they revered togetherness.
When Christmas of 1941 approached, a stunned nation mourned the bombing of Pearl Harbor as it stood at the precipice of war, 80 years ago this year. In that time of uncertainty, many questioned whether the official lighting of the National Christmas tree should proceed. Yet President Roosevelt and First Lady insisted on the rarest gathering, the most exquisite tree illumination that persists in the American memory to this day. No one knew of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s planned appearance at the lighting, except FDR and a few top officials. Not even Eleanor was told. An Oriental spruce with its rich golden and verdant boughs was chosen. The Roosevelts decided to open the South Lawn of the White House to the public. There the lofty spruce had been carefully planted and decorated. As twilight neared on Christmas Eve, two world leaders stepped into the soft light of the White House portico. They looked out onto a sea of 20,000 Americans, who in the face of darkness and uncertainty, embraced this gift of hope. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill’s words reached millions of people across the nation. Perhaps that majestic spruce in 1941 was the most beautiful tree if all, its fervent, gleaming lights the miracle that soothed a nation that even then, was preparing for sacrifice, service, dedication — unity. And they would be known as the Greatest Generation.
In this era of national division, let it be so that at Christmastime and always, we remember George Washington’s prayer : “ that the hearts of the citizens be inclined to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens..to do justice, to love mercy with that charity, humility, and ... temper of mind.”
May we recommit ourselves to one another in this, the season of good will for all.
Angela Arnett Garner is a social justice activist who organized the first Indigenous Peoples Day ceremony in Kentucky history.