Wall Builders does terrific work teaching history. Here’s a good example:
Christmas is a time that we gather with our family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It is a time for us to reflect not only on what God has done by sending His only Son, but also an opportunity to remember all of the blessings that He alone has provided. Even though Americans have historically been divided on the celebration of Christmas, Presidents have continued to recognize the reason behind the Christmas celebration as important to our Christian heritage (as seen in the WallBuilders’ article Christmas with the Presidents).
In fact, in a speech given after his Presidency, John Quincy Adams firmly linked the birth of our Savior to the birth of our nation in an 1837 Fourth of July address, when he asked:
Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies, announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?
However, John Quincy Adams was not the only President to acknowledge the importance of Christ in American history. Numerous other Presidents have also honored this holiday throughout the years. For example, listen to or read some of the following clips:
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1944 Christmas Speech
• Apollo 8 1968 Christmas Message
• President Ronald Regan’s 1981 Christmas Message
• President George W. Bush’s 2003 Remarks on the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree
