Chrstmas 1941
On December 7, 1941 (71 years ago today) the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing a declaration of war upon Japan by the United States. It was later described by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as "a date which will live in infamy."
1941 was the first year of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s third term in office. Earlier in the year, Germany had launched a surprise offensive on the Soviets while the Soviet and British armies united in a military alliance. It was several weeks before Christmas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States, Britain, and other allies to formally declare war on Japan. But although American troops were preparing for war, the celebration of the Christmas season did not come to a halt. The President and First Lady gifted over 400 signed photographs of themselves at their home in Hyde Park, New York. Current and former cabinet members, heads of the executive office, family, and friends, received bounded copies of Roosevelt's campaign speeches from him as presents.
Winston Churchill was a White House guest during Christmas of 1941. He attended the national tree lighting ceremony, which was moved from the Ellipse to the South Lawn. Two 25-foot live Oriental spruce trees were moved from other locations on the White House grounds and replanted within the South Lawn. The ceremony that year drew a crowd of over 20,000. Both Churchill and Roosevelt addressed the masses with Christmas messages, which were also broadcast world-wide via radio transmission.
With America was officially at war, the Treasury Department began promoting and encouraging Americans to purchase defense bonds and stamps. Appropriate for the occasion, the Roosevelts’ Christmas gift to their White House staff was a black leather stamp album. A copy of the previous year’s Christmas speeches by Churchill and the President were given to cabinet members, heads of the executive office, family, and friends. After several years of sending the same Christmas cards, the single-sided design changed to a photograph of the President and First Lady sitting at a table on the White House grounds. The imprint on the card read: “WITH CHRISTMAS GREETINGS AND OUR BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPIER NEW YEAR, THE PRESIDENT AND MRS. ROOSEVELT”.
1941 was the first year of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s third term in office. Earlier in the year, Germany had launched a surprise offensive on the Soviets while the Soviet and British armies united in a military alliance. It was several weeks before Christmas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States, Britain, and other allies to formally declare war on Japan. But although American troops were preparing for war, the celebration of the Christmas season did not come to a halt. The President and First Lady gifted over 400 signed photographs of themselves at their home in Hyde Park, New York. Current and former cabinet members, heads of the executive office, family, and friends, received bounded copies of Roosevelt's campaign speeches from him as presents.
Winston Churchill was a White House guest during Christmas of 1941. He attended the national tree lighting ceremony, which was moved from the Ellipse to the South Lawn. Two 25-foot live Oriental spruce trees were moved from other locations on the White House grounds and replanted within the South Lawn. The ceremony that year drew a crowd of over 20,000. Both Churchill and Roosevelt addressed the masses with Christmas messages, which were also broadcast world-wide via radio transmission.
With America was officially at war, the Treasury Department began promoting and encouraging Americans to purchase defense bonds and stamps. Appropriate for the occasion, the Roosevelts’ Christmas gift to their White House staff was a black leather stamp album. A copy of the previous year’s Christmas speeches by Churchill and the President were given to cabinet members, heads of the executive office, family, and friends. After several years of sending the same Christmas cards, the single-sided design changed to a photograph of the President and First Lady sitting at a table on the White House grounds. The imprint on the card read: “WITH CHRISTMAS GREETINGS AND OUR BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPIER NEW YEAR, THE PRESIDENT AND MRS. ROOSEVELT”.