--- title: Christmas: Surprising Story of the Holiday in America description: Christmas is not technically a national holiday in the U.S., but it played an important role shaping the history of the nation canonical: https://time.com/4608452/christmas-america-national-holiday/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-23T14:00:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:20.750Z article:section: History og:title: Christmas: Surprising Story of the Holiday in America og:description: It's not technically a national holiday, but it still played an important role in American history og:url: https://time.com/4608452/christmas-america-national-holiday/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b831fd8e3432e23/6988b3d4ab6d7755c86ac53d/gettyimages-3208986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3017 og:image:height: 1697 og:image:alt: Santa Claus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Christmas: Surprising Story of the Holiday in America twitter:description: It's not technically a national holiday, but it still played an important role in American history twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b831fd8e3432e23/6988b3d4ab6d7755c86ac53d/gettyimages-3208986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Surprising Story of Christmas in the United States > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Watch President Obama and Michelle Obama’s Last Christmas Address From the White House [Watch (HLS stream): Watch President Obama and Michelle Obama’s Last Christmas Address From the White House](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NMAP3FCM.m3u8) (4:04)  _Published 2016-12-24. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama delivered their final Christmastime weekly address on Saturday, wishing families across the U.S. a joyous holiday._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Dec 23, 2016 2:00 PM UTC  Thomas Nast's 1880s interpretation of Santa Claus Thomas Nast's 1880s interpretation of Santa Claus Hulton Archive—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Dec 23, 2016 2:00 PM UTC The custom of celebrating [the birth of Jesus Christ](http://time.com/4157162/jesus-born-christmas/) is not exactly a new one for Christians around the world: the holiday is believed to date back to Dec. 25, [336 A.D.](http://time.com/4462775/bc-ad-dating-history), in Rome. But in the U.S., [Christmas](http://time.com/4602459/winter-solstice-2016-date-christmas-hanukkah/) was not officially a federal day off from work or a break from mail delivery until 1870. In fact, though the term may be used freely, Christmas isn’t really a “national” holiday in the U.S.; rather, it is a federal holiday and a holiday in the states. Neither the President nor Congress exercises the power to declare a holiday that would apply to everyone in all of the states at once, the Congressional Research Service [points out](http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/Federal%5FHolidays.pdf). Still, that doesn’t mean the U.S. has historically been unenthusiastic about Christmas. The [Puritans banned Christmas celebrations](http://time.com/3641120/puritan-christmas/), but by the time the holiday was made a legal one in addition to a religious one, Americans were already a notably Christmas-celebrating group. Several older, highly industrialized states declared Christmas a legal holiday in the mid-19th century. Massachusetts makes a good case study: with burnout rates skyrocketing during the Industrial Revolution, one state legislator argued that the lack of leisure time was literally killing workers. So, though Massachusetts had had a state-supported church until 1833 and it’s likely that many workers in the predominantly Christian society would have taken the day off anyway, the effort to pass the law came from commercial lobbies rather than religious groups. “When that legislature declared Christmas to be a legal holiday, they included a proviso that, when Christmas happened to fall on a Sunday, the following Monday would become the legal holiday. They did the same thing with Washington’s Birthday, which had never been a holiday before,” says Stephen Nissenbaum, author of _The Battle for Christmas: A Social and Cultural History of Our Most Cherished Holiday_. “Opposition to the bill focused on the Washington’s Birthday provision, presumably because it was politically easier to attack.” Finally, on June 28, 1870, toward the end of the legislative session, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into a bill designating Christmas a legal, unpaid holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) The legislation also included holidays like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Day. Such holidays were later extended to federal employees outside of D.C., but a provision making sure they got paid on those days didn’t exist until 1938\. According to [congressional records](https://books.google.com/books?id=V2I9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA4529&lpg=PA4529&dq=%E2%80%9Cany+day+appointed+or+recommended+by+the+President+of+the+United+States+as+a+day+of+public+fasting%22+1870&source=bl&ots=jlf0zm31sF&sig=Mj4vFUvrphZ49WhR1JAo6PQtXAM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWk5DLlYjRAhVDQSYKHSu5DKgQ6AEILDAD#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cany%20day%20appointed%20or%20recommended%20by%20the%20President%20of%20the%20United%20States%20as%20a%20day%20of%20public%20fasting%22%201870&f=false), the 1870 law was instigated by area “bankers and business men” who wanted certain holidays to be formalized. Though it might have stood to reason that such a bill might provoke debate about hot-button issues like the separation of church and state, there was no notable debate on the bill in committee. (“One could argue that giving federal workers the day off, which is all the federal holiday does, does not ‘support’ any religion — it doesn’t require anyone to do anything religious, it just says the office won’t be open,” says Douglas Ambrose, a professor of history at Hamilton College and an expert in Christianity in early American history.) But some historians argue that Christmas in the U.S. isn’t really about any law at all. Rather, the idea that Christmas is a national American holiday may have been a matter of the widespread appeal of certain practices that spread in the 19th century, such as writing Christmas cards, decorating Christmas trees — a custom from Victorian England that was introduced to Americans by popular magazine _Godey’s Lady_ _Book —_ and telling children about Santa Claus, who was depicted by the era’s famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast in _Harper’s Weekly_. Though some have theorized that the law was meant to unite North and South during the height of the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, the northern publishing houses that produced Christmas imagery and circulating the latest customs and traditions led the charge for the holiday, argues Penne L. Restad, author of _Christmas in America: A History_ and a senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin. While a day off from work was important, that wasn’t the only purpose of Christmas during that rapidly changing time. Christmas customs encouraged a sense of community and unity at a time when urbanization, industrialization and the memory of the recent Civil War had made many people feel more unsettled than ever, says Restad. Unsurprisingly, Thanksgiving’s place as a federal holiday [dates to the same era](http://time.com/4577082/thanksgiving-holiday-history-origins/). During that time, people across the nation sought to impose order on a confusing world, from time zones to department stores. One result of that effort was an expanding sense of what America meant. “This idea of creating a nation becomes important,” Restad says. And Christmas was part of how the nation came to be. ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Merry Christmas everybody. One of the best parts of the holiday season is spending time with the special people in your life. And for me that means getting some help from my best friend For our annual Christmas, weekly address. Now, given how our first Christmas weekly address went, I realized that Barack needed all the help he could get. [ LAUGH ] This is our first Christmas in the White House. [ LAUGH ] What? Stop. [ INAUDIBLE ] You know , >> [ LAUGH ] What? You've got to stop it. All right? You got to get it together. You're gonna have to pull it together, POTUS. [ LAUGH ] Celebrating the holidays in the White House over these past eight years has been a true privilege. We've been able to welcome over half a million guests, Our outstanding pastry chefs have baked 200, 000 holiday cookies. That's a lot of cookies. And Barack has treated the American people to countless bad jokes. They're great jokes. Not so funny. Although a few got a frosty reception. The last one. [ LAUGH ] This year's White House holiday theme is The gift of the holidays. And our decorations reflects some of our greatest gifts as a nation from our incredible military families, to the life changing impact of a great education. And the greatest that Michelle and I have received over the last 8 years has been the honor of serving as your President and First Lady. Together we fought our way back from the worst recession in 80 years and got unemployment to a nine year low. We secured health insurance for another 20 million Americans and new protections for folks who already had insurance. We made America more respected around the world. Took on the mantle of leadership and the fight to protect this planet for our kids and much, much more. By so many measures our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we first got here. And I'm hopeful we'll build on the progress we made together in the years to come. Tomorrow as the final time as the First Family we will join our fellow christians around the world to rejoice in the birth of our saviour. And as we re- tell his story from that holy night, we'll also remember his eternal message. One of boundless love, compassion, and hope. The idea that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper. That we should treat others as we would want to be treated. That we care for the sick Feed the hungry, welcome the stranger no matter where they come from or how they practise their faith. Those are values that help guide not just my family's christian faith but that of Jewish Americans and Muslim Americans, Non- believers and Americans of all backgrounds. And no one better embodies that spirit of service. Than the men and women who wear our country's uniform and their families. As always, many of our troops are far from home this time of the year, and their families are serving and sacrificing right along with them. Their courage and dedication allow the rest of us to enjoy this season. That's why we tried to serve them as well as they've served this country. Go to joiningforces. gov to see how you can honor and support the service members, veterans, and military families in your community. Not just during the holidays, but all year round. So as we look forward to the new year, let's resolve to recommit ourselves to the values we share. And on behalf of all the Obama's, Michelle, Malia, Sasha, Bo, and that troublemaker, Sunny. [ LAUGH ] Merry Christmas, everybody. And we wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2017. Thanks and God bless. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4608452/christmas-america-national-holiday/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4608452/christmas-america-national-holiday/"},"headline":"The Surprising Story of Christmas in the United States","datePublished":"2016-12-23T14:00:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:20.750Z","description":"It's not technically a national holiday, but it still played an important role in American history","url":"https://time.com/4608452/christmas-america-national-holiday/","keywords":["Holidays"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b831fd8e3432e23/6988b3d4ab6d7755c86ac53d/gettyimages-3208986.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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