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Lincoln At Christmas
(IRN)-He is no Scrooge, but don't imagine Abraham Lincoln decorating a Christmas tree or putting on a Santa Claus suit, either.

Illinois state historian Tom Schwartz says the Lincoln family held to Puritan traditions which, by the mid-19th Century, were on their way out. They included making New Year's Day the main celebration for seeing friends and family.

Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol, which came out during Lincoln's adult life, advanced many of today's holiday traditions, though there is no evidence Lincoln observed them.

Schwartz says Lincoln, while a legislator, voted against making December 25 a day off and was more likely to spend that day on letters or other paperwork.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
12 22 10 by Newsroom
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