A Benjamin Harrison Christmas
Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third President of the United States, was Presidnet from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1893. Although Franklin Pierce is credited with being the first President to decorate a White House Christmas tree, the tradition did not become a public one until Harrison's presidency. Although President Harrison was perjoratively called "the human iceberg" for his socially rententive manner, it appears that the man loved Christmas.
On the morning of December 25, 1889, in their frist Christmas in the White House, the Harrison family gathered in the second-floor Oval Room of the White House (later called the Blue Room) and stood around a tree decorated with glass ornaments, toy soldiers, and lit candles. Harrison’s young grandchildren, Benjamin and Mary McKee, were the recipients of the greatest number of Christmas oresents, which reportedly filled tables and stockings hung from the mantel. Besides the presents, candy and nuts were distributed to family and staff. Harrison distributed turkeys and gloves to his employees. One of Harrison's presents was a silver dollar-shaped picture holder from his daughter, Mary Scott “Mamie” Harrison McKee.
First Lady Caroline Harrison, was an artist, and it was she who planned how the tree would be decorated each year. The Harrisons are credited with beginning a tradition which has lasted to the present day. The First Family’s Christmas tree is still set up in the Blue Room, the location in the White House chosen by President Harrison.
The Harrisons threw lavish, well-attended feasts at the White House in observance of the Christmas holiday. For example, here is the menu from their 1890 holiday celebration: they began with Blue Point Oysters on the half shell and Consommé Royal; the main course consisted of Bouchées a la Reine (pastries filled with a sweetbread and béchamel mixture), turkey, cranberry jelly, potatoes Duchesse, stewed celery, terrapin a la Maryland, salad with plain dressing, mince pie, and American plum pudding; and for dessert they had tutti-fruiti ice ceream, lady fingers, macaroons, Carlsbad Wafers, and an assortment of fruit.
Caroline Harrison died from Tuberculosis on October 25, 1892, near the end of the election campaign that year. Harrison ceased campaigning during her illness. He subsequently lost the election and it is unlikely that the White House Christmas of 1892 was very merry.
In 1895, when he was no longer President, Harrison and the woman who would become his second wife, Mary Dimmick Harrison, used their 1895 Christmas correspondence to announce their intention to marry. Ms. Dimmick was the niece and former caretaker of Harrison’s first wife and was also 25 years his junior. Neither of his adult children from his first marriage approved of the union and declined their invitations to the wedding, but Harrison declared, “I do not wish to spend the rest of my days alone.” The pair was married the following April.
On the morning of December 25, 1889, in their frist Christmas in the White House, the Harrison family gathered in the second-floor Oval Room of the White House (later called the Blue Room) and stood around a tree decorated with glass ornaments, toy soldiers, and lit candles. Harrison’s young grandchildren, Benjamin and Mary McKee, were the recipients of the greatest number of Christmas oresents, which reportedly filled tables and stockings hung from the mantel. Besides the presents, candy and nuts were distributed to family and staff. Harrison distributed turkeys and gloves to his employees. One of Harrison's presents was a silver dollar-shaped picture holder from his daughter, Mary Scott “Mamie” Harrison McKee.
First Lady Caroline Harrison, was an artist, and it was she who planned how the tree would be decorated each year. The Harrisons are credited with beginning a tradition which has lasted to the present day. The First Family’s Christmas tree is still set up in the Blue Room, the location in the White House chosen by President Harrison.
The Harrisons threw lavish, well-attended feasts at the White House in observance of the Christmas holiday. For example, here is the menu from their 1890 holiday celebration: they began with Blue Point Oysters on the half shell and Consommé Royal; the main course consisted of Bouchées a la Reine (pastries filled with a sweetbread and béchamel mixture), turkey, cranberry jelly, potatoes Duchesse, stewed celery, terrapin a la Maryland, salad with plain dressing, mince pie, and American plum pudding; and for dessert they had tutti-fruiti ice ceream, lady fingers, macaroons, Carlsbad Wafers, and an assortment of fruit.
Caroline Harrison died from Tuberculosis on October 25, 1892, near the end of the election campaign that year. Harrison ceased campaigning during her illness. He subsequently lost the election and it is unlikely that the White House Christmas of 1892 was very merry.
In 1895, when he was no longer President, Harrison and the woman who would become his second wife, Mary Dimmick Harrison, used their 1895 Christmas correspondence to announce their intention to marry. Ms. Dimmick was the niece and former caretaker of Harrison’s first wife and was also 25 years his junior. Neither of his adult children from his first marriage approved of the union and declined their invitations to the wedding, but Harrison declared, “I do not wish to spend the rest of my days alone.” The pair was married the following April.