Christmas Greetings from the Presidents

by Various

Every Christmas since Calvin Coolidge in 1927, the President of the United States has delivered a holiday message to the American people. Gathered in this volume are selections from those messages along with a brief glimpse into the history unfolding at that time. For example, what FDR said during Christmas 1941 is made even more poignant knowing that the attack on Pearl Harbor had happened just weeks earlier. Likewise, one of President Reagan's Christmas messages is even more impressive knowing that the Iron Curtain was about to come down.
These little-known messages are filled with the spirit of Christmas and remind us that patriotism has a place in our holiday celebrations.

Genres: Christmas, Nonfiction, History

96 pages, Hardcover

Published September 27, 2016

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1927, Calvin Coolidge offered the first official presidential Christmas greeting to the country. His message was short but powerful: "Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things there will be born in us a Savior and over us all will shine a star--sending its gleam of hope to the world." That set the tone of the book for me and I was interested in what the other presidents had to say.

I like how there is historical background given to remind us of what was happening in the country during the time of each president and how his message would relate to that. Some of the messages apply no matter when they were given. I also loved President Reagan's message. His was one of the longer ones. He spoke about the spirit of solidarity and referred specifically to the struggles Poland was going through at that time. I was young when this happened and don't remember it so I found it interesting to read about.

This is the perfect book to keep on display during Christmas. It's high quality and easy to pick up and read a little bit at a time or just flip through to look at the wonderful illustrations. It's a great reminder that no matter how different we are, Christmas is a time to come together in love, faith, reflection and charity!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful addition to your holiday book collection. The words from our presidents are inspiring and meaningful. I loved how God was mentioned in most of the messages and reminders of "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Many presidents talked of faith, love, acceptance, and to trust in God.

Calvin Coolidge said: "Christmas is not a time or a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things there will be born in us a Savior and over us all will shine a star -- sending its gleam of hope to the world."

There were many messages that brought tears to my eyes, especially considering what was going on in the world and in our country at the time. Wars, The Great Depression, hunger, The Cold War, assassinations. In some messages I could feel the weight of responsibility and the want of peace and hope. I enjoyed the pictures and the historical reminders of the what was happening during their presidency before each message.

Received a complimentary copy, all views and opinions expressed are my own.

[SarahO · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book multiple times by now, and each time I come back to it, I have more knowledge of the time periods and presidents. Many of these speeches are beautiful, but as a Christian and a lover of history, I sometimes question the sincerity of the speakers. Besides that, great christmas read!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

While you would think that would be one that just contains innocuous messages of hope, faith, forgiveness and love, it often contained the messages of presidential agendas and politics, such as when Nixon did not have any lights on the National tree except for the star and when the star was replaced by a snowflake because the star was recognized as a religious symbol. Other presidents like Carter did have an overall humanitarian missive. Regardless, I did like how each message related to people and their triumphs and struggles of their specific times from a historical perspective, but the presidential message of John Adams on November 1, 1800, upon moving into an unfinished building later to be known as The White House, stands out:

I pray Heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house, and on all shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.

.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a drawing at "Moroni Book" in Fort Collins. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It is a collection of presidential speeches given at the lighting of the national Christmas tree in Washington DC. It had little bits of history included to let the reader know what was going on in the country at the time. I was interested to see how much or little each president included the true meaning of Christmas in his speech. Harry Truman seemed to be very Biblically literate and the most truly spiritual of all of them. An interesting read.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the historical notes put at the beginning of each speech, to give context to what was happening in the world at the time and how that reflected in the current president's tone or theme of what he shared with the nation at Christmastime. I especially was amazed at how properly focused the pre-50's/60's addresses were on Jesus' birth and the reason for the holiday. The tone changes more to thoughts of general peace and goodwill in the subsequent years.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting to read the Christmas message from the Presidents from Coolidge to present day. What struck me was the inclusion of the Savior in almost everyone's speech. I was surprised to see it. It also struck me that there seems to always be a crisis of some sort. We are living in troubled times.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of what Presidents of the United States have said at their time in office when they delivered their Christmas Tree lighting address just before turning on the switch to light the Capitol's Christmas tree. It also gives a synopsis of what was going on in the country and the world at the time of their speech. Very interesting. We got a bit of history along with the speeches.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting collection of Christmas speeches from several Presidents at various times since the first Christmas tree was installed at the White House in 1923. It made me interested in going to visit while the trees are still up. It also showed the creep of Christian nationalism into some of the President's addresses/points of view.

[Marianne Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why I was surprised at how religious the presidential speeches were; but I was. This book also reminded me of how serious the energy crisis was in 1973 - 74. I also find the Christmas portraits interesting. In most, I saw warmth between husbands and wives. The Clintons looked as if they were standing solo.

[Elizabeth Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love viewing history from different perspectives. This book is a great way of seeing different historical times through a president's and nation's eyes.

Review for the Deseret News here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...

[Sheila (sheilasbookreviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always loved reading about Presidents of The United States. I also love reading books about Christmas. This book was a perfect combination of both. This book is a collection of Christmas messages of at least one address from each president since Calvin Coolidge to now. This is not just reading a special Christmas message, but it's also an interesting walk through history as the president at the time spoke of what was happening currently in the country.

In 1941 , President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to the country within weeks of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.This message is particularly poignant when President Roosevelt spoke of..."How can we meet and worship with love and with uplifted spirit and heart in a world at war, a world of fighting and suffering and death?" He went on to announce a day of prayer on January 1st 1942.It is a very beautiful speech.

I also enjoyed reading President John F. Kennedy's speech in 1962 two months after the Cuban Missile Crisis. He spoke of peace after, "A year of peril when the peace had been sorely threatened, but a year when peril was faced and when reason ruled."

Sadly it was the last Christmas he'd light the Christmas tree as he was assassinated the next November.

I really loved reading the address from President Ronald Reagan in 1981. It was a turbulent time in world politics as Communist Soviet Union, and the Polish Government itself was persecuting the Polish people and their Solidarity Movement. President Reagan addressed this issue and this speech was the beginning of the end for the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Union. It is a very powerful speech.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and the history that unfolds from these pages. The overall message from all of the presidents was to keep hope and faith alive in people's hearts despite what was going on in the world. Christmas Greetings From The Presidents will be a fine addition to anyones Christmas book collection or any historian's book collection.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this read until I realized that in a sense it was a bunch of crap. It was nice that back in the day we were allowed to give the reason for the season. Today everyone is so concerned with being politically correct that they are killing Christmas. Yes!!!! it is called "Christ"mas. It isn't about gifts or a fat man in a red suit lights. It is about family and the Gift of a Son who would one day redeem us and provide a way for us to return to our Heavenly Father. This book made me sad that people are afraid to celebrate this for fear of offending those who do not believe in Christ. All of us should be more tolerant of those who have different beliefs. End of rant.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed looking through this book. I actually didn't realize there was a National Tree lighting or a message from the President every single year. It was really neat to look through this book and see what was happening in the world during each of the presidencies and see how their messages changed due to what was happening in the world. I also loved that there were pictures of the families and the Presidents messages and cards to his staff.

This is a fun little book to look through, I'm sure I'll look at it every Christmas!

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was an interesting compilation of Presidential Christmas greetings through the decades. The greetings were put into the historical context of the time frame when they were delivered and that put them into perspective in a very unique way. It also gave a glimpse into the faith perspectives of each of the Presidents as well. This was a great piece of Americana that I'd highly recommend not just at Christmas but anytime.