Theodore Roosevelt and Christmas
As the youngest man ever to take the oath of office, Theodore Roosevelt came to the White House with a large, young family. He and his wife Edith had six children aged three through seventeen.
A typical Roosevelt family Christmas is described as beginning at seven in the morning, when all the children and their dog, a terrier, would bound into their parents’ chamber to claim the gifts which filled each of their Christmas stockings. After a hearty Christmas breakfast, the family would move to the library, where the children’s larger gifts were set out on tables. Roosevelt wrote in his diary about "the sheer joy on his younger children’s faces" when the library doors were thrown open and all their presents were laid out before them. He said that it was “like a materialized fairy land.” He also wrote that it brought back memories for him of his own favorite childhood Christmases in Manhattan.
One story regarding President Roosevelt and Christmas deals with his infamous White House Christmas tree ban during the early years of his presidency. Roosevelt, a famed environmentalist, took office at a time of growing public concern over the feared destruction of forests due to damaging lumbering practices. The cutting down and displaying of Christmas trees was viewed, in some quarters, as one of the more blatant examples of deforestation due to unnecessary commercial causes. Many newspapers of the day published articles denouncing the use of live trees and promoting the purchase of artificial “wire” trees, which could last a generation and spare these gifts of nature from a premature and inglorious end.
Roosevelt refused to display a Christmas tree in the White House, believing that to do so would send the wrong message to the public and be fodder for his political opponents. In 1901, the Roosevelts’ first treeless Christmas in Washington passed uneventfully. In 1902, however, Roosevelt’s two youngest sons, Archie and Quentin, cut down a small tree on the White House grounds and smuggled it into the closet of the room where the family opened gifts. The boys hung gifts for their parents from the branches and enlisted the help of the staff electrician in decorating the tree with tiny lights wired to a switch outside the closet.
On Christmas morning, while the family opened gifts, Archie surprised his family by opening the closet door and throwing the switch. Roosevelt appeared to be amused by his sons’ initiative, but he took them to see his friend and environmental advisor Gifford Pinchot, to explain to them the negative effects of killing trees for decorative use. To his surprise, Pinchot went into a lengthy explanation regarding how sometimes, cutting down some larger trees was in the best interests of forests, as it allowed a larger number of smaller young trees to receive the sunlight they need to flourish.
Roosevelt was sometimes lampooned at Christmas in a number of cartoons, especially in publications such as Puck. After Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, a cartoon showed Santa Claus leaving the prize in stocking of a pajama clad TR. The cartoon below, also in Puck, shows the president angrily greeting Christmas carolers representing a number of those he loathed, including Supreme Court Justice David Brewer.
After leaving the presidency, Roosevelt and his family and friends spent a number of Christmases at his sprawling ranch in Medora, North Dakota. Roosevelt was an avid hunter, and the Christmas meal at the ranch would frequently include much of the game he and his friends had shot or trapped. Among the dinner meats served were whitetail, blacktail and mule deer; moose, bison, antelope, suckling pig, jackrabbits, cottontail rabbits, wild turkeys, Canada geese, mallards, grouses, and his favorite, elk. Other foods reported to be on the menu were personally-distilled whiskeys, oysters on the half shell, olives, radishes, celery, consommé, chestnut dressing, giblet gravy, rhubarb-orange jam, spiced crab apples, mashed potatoes, spinach, onions in cream gravy, Brussels sprouts, tossed salad, mincemeat pie, vanilla ice cream, meringue, ginger snaps, Philadelphia sand tarts, nuts, fruits, chocolate dragees, coffee, and madeira wine. Dinner always took place at midnight, after everyone had worked up an appetite during a Christmas day full of rodeo events. Cowboys and cattlemen took part in the activities, which featured contests displaying skills in horsemanship, riflery, and archery.
When not in Washington or North Dakota, the Roosevelts celebrated Christmas at Sagamore Hill, the family estate in Oyster Bay, Long Island. On Christmas Eve, the family would take a sleigh ride (later a motorcar ride) into town to Christ Church Cathedral. After the pastor had delivered his sermon, Roosevelt would take the pulpit and deliver one of his well-renowned “sermonettes” in regards to the importance of Christmas. The mass would end with his favorite hymn, “Christmas by the Sea.” The following morning, presents would be opened and the entire clan would spend the day feasting, playing games, hiking and going on sleigh rides.
The picture below was taken on Christmas day of 1908 and shows the Roosevelt family leaving the White House. Congressman Nicholas Longworth who married Alice Roosevelt in 1906 appears at the far right.
For a number of years, Roosevelt continued to dress up as Santa Claus at the Cove Neck School in Oyster Bay, listening to the children’s wish lists and presenting them with gifts he had selected himself.
Theodore Roosevelt's retirement years are the subject of David Pietrusza's excellent book TR's Last War, reviewed here in this community. (It would make a terrific Christmas gift for the potus_geeks on your list).
A typical Roosevelt family Christmas is described as beginning at seven in the morning, when all the children and their dog, a terrier, would bound into their parents’ chamber to claim the gifts which filled each of their Christmas stockings. After a hearty Christmas breakfast, the family would move to the library, where the children’s larger gifts were set out on tables. Roosevelt wrote in his diary about "the sheer joy on his younger children’s faces" when the library doors were thrown open and all their presents were laid out before them. He said that it was “like a materialized fairy land.” He also wrote that it brought back memories for him of his own favorite childhood Christmases in Manhattan.
One story regarding President Roosevelt and Christmas deals with his infamous White House Christmas tree ban during the early years of his presidency. Roosevelt, a famed environmentalist, took office at a time of growing public concern over the feared destruction of forests due to damaging lumbering practices. The cutting down and displaying of Christmas trees was viewed, in some quarters, as one of the more blatant examples of deforestation due to unnecessary commercial causes. Many newspapers of the day published articles denouncing the use of live trees and promoting the purchase of artificial “wire” trees, which could last a generation and spare these gifts of nature from a premature and inglorious end.
Roosevelt refused to display a Christmas tree in the White House, believing that to do so would send the wrong message to the public and be fodder for his political opponents. In 1901, the Roosevelts’ first treeless Christmas in Washington passed uneventfully. In 1902, however, Roosevelt’s two youngest sons, Archie and Quentin, cut down a small tree on the White House grounds and smuggled it into the closet of the room where the family opened gifts. The boys hung gifts for their parents from the branches and enlisted the help of the staff electrician in decorating the tree with tiny lights wired to a switch outside the closet.
On Christmas morning, while the family opened gifts, Archie surprised his family by opening the closet door and throwing the switch. Roosevelt appeared to be amused by his sons’ initiative, but he took them to see his friend and environmental advisor Gifford Pinchot, to explain to them the negative effects of killing trees for decorative use. To his surprise, Pinchot went into a lengthy explanation regarding how sometimes, cutting down some larger trees was in the best interests of forests, as it allowed a larger number of smaller young trees to receive the sunlight they need to flourish.
Roosevelt was sometimes lampooned at Christmas in a number of cartoons, especially in publications such as Puck. After Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, a cartoon showed Santa Claus leaving the prize in stocking of a pajama clad TR. The cartoon below, also in Puck, shows the president angrily greeting Christmas carolers representing a number of those he loathed, including Supreme Court Justice David Brewer.
After leaving the presidency, Roosevelt and his family and friends spent a number of Christmases at his sprawling ranch in Medora, North Dakota. Roosevelt was an avid hunter, and the Christmas meal at the ranch would frequently include much of the game he and his friends had shot or trapped. Among the dinner meats served were whitetail, blacktail and mule deer; moose, bison, antelope, suckling pig, jackrabbits, cottontail rabbits, wild turkeys, Canada geese, mallards, grouses, and his favorite, elk. Other foods reported to be on the menu were personally-distilled whiskeys, oysters on the half shell, olives, radishes, celery, consommé, chestnut dressing, giblet gravy, rhubarb-orange jam, spiced crab apples, mashed potatoes, spinach, onions in cream gravy, Brussels sprouts, tossed salad, mincemeat pie, vanilla ice cream, meringue, ginger snaps, Philadelphia sand tarts, nuts, fruits, chocolate dragees, coffee, and madeira wine. Dinner always took place at midnight, after everyone had worked up an appetite during a Christmas day full of rodeo events. Cowboys and cattlemen took part in the activities, which featured contests displaying skills in horsemanship, riflery, and archery.
When not in Washington or North Dakota, the Roosevelts celebrated Christmas at Sagamore Hill, the family estate in Oyster Bay, Long Island. On Christmas Eve, the family would take a sleigh ride (later a motorcar ride) into town to Christ Church Cathedral. After the pastor had delivered his sermon, Roosevelt would take the pulpit and deliver one of his well-renowned “sermonettes” in regards to the importance of Christmas. The mass would end with his favorite hymn, “Christmas by the Sea.” The following morning, presents would be opened and the entire clan would spend the day feasting, playing games, hiking and going on sleigh rides.
The picture below was taken on Christmas day of 1908 and shows the Roosevelt family leaving the White House. Congressman Nicholas Longworth who married Alice Roosevelt in 1906 appears at the far right.
For a number of years, Roosevelt continued to dress up as Santa Claus at the Cove Neck School in Oyster Bay, listening to the children’s wish lists and presenting them with gifts he had selected himself.
Theodore Roosevelt's retirement years are the subject of David Pietrusza's excellent book TR's Last War, reviewed here in this community. (It would make a terrific Christmas gift for the potus_geeks on your list).