THE DIVINE AUTHOR OF EVERY GOOD GIFT
“And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land.”
James Madison
Fourth President of the United States
Chief Architect of the Constitution
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES IN THE WHITE HOUSE
The White House is perhaps the most recognizable Washington, D.C., landmark, but it also plays seasonal host for many religious observances. As you approach the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, look just ahead to the left. In front of the White House and adjacent to the National Mall is the Ellipse, the site of the National Christmas Tree and the National Hanukkah Menorah. Despite a number of legal challenges, the Pageant of Peace takes place each year on the Ellipse. In addition to the National Christmas Tree and Hanukkah Menorah, it features Christmas trees from each of the states, a nativity scene, and nightly musical performances.
The tradition of placing a decorated Christmas tree in the White House began in 1889. While it started as a gathering for President Harrison's family and friends, the lighting of the White House Christmas tree has become a national tradition. In 1929, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover started the unbroken custom of first ladies trimming the "official" White House Christmas tree. In 1961 First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for decorations, modeling it after Peter Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite ballet. First Lady Laura Bush selected themes such as "Home for the Holidays" and "All Creatures Great and Small" to adorn the tree.
Since 1878, American presidents and their families have celebrated Easter Monday by hosting an "egg roll" party on the White Houses lawn, one of the oldest events in White House history. The original site for this tradition was the grounds of the U.S. Capitol until Congress passed a legislation forbidding it. In response, President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the south lawn of the White House to local children and families to continue the tradition of egg rolling on Easter. Successive presidents have sustained this custom, canceling it only for occasional poor weather and two world wars.
Through the years, the White House has also been the site of prayer services and other religiously themed gatherings. After the Civil War, First Lady Lucy Hayes and President Rutherford B.Hayes hosted prayer services and hymn singing for members of the Cabinet, the Congress, and their families. They also renewed their vows before a Methodist minister in the Executive Mansion on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
President William McKinley also hosted gatherings in the Blue Room of the Executive Mansion on Sunday evenings in which he and visiting clergy would lead the group in hymn singing. If you get the chance to go on the White House tour, be sure to visit the State Dining Room. The fireplace mantel contains a prayer by President John Adams:
“I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that hereafter inhabit it.
May none but the honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”
Adams wrote these words to his wife, Abigail, after first moving into the residence in November 1800. President Franklin Roosevelt subsequently discovered Adams' words in the later years of World War II and had them carved into the stone fireplace below a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
In 1953, President Dwight David Eisenhower hosted the National Prayer Breakfast out of a desire to meet with the House and Senate prayer groups and unite the nation's leaders under the common bond of faith. Over the years, the annual tradition has grown to include, by personal invitation, friends from all the fifty states and over one hundred countries throughout the world.
Ray R Barmore
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