作者:Jessica Lynn Leeper，牛津大学历史学博士候选人
Whenever we think about Christmas in the 19th century, 我们想到的是19世纪30年代末开始的维多利亚时代丰富的美学. Scrooge’s ghosts made their debut appearance in 1843, 19世纪50年代初，富兰克林·皮尔斯总统将圣诞树引入白宫, 许多与圣诞有关的颂歌都是在19世纪写的. In the 1820s, John Quincy Adams was at the height of his career, 在担任门罗总统的国务卿之后，他于1825年宣誓就任美国第六任总统. St. 19世纪20年代，尼古拉斯才开始出现在儿童文学中, 他在克莱门特·克拉克·摩尔的诗中做了著名的介绍 ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, 然而，约翰·昆西·亚当斯——像他同时代的大多数人一样——完全没有意识到假日季节即将在19世纪发生革命性的变化. To him, it was a quiet point in his year. It was a time for reflection in his diary; for long hours of fireside reading; and unending (and often political) social visits. He rarely took the day off from his work at the office, 但每年圣诞节他几乎总能抽出时间来玩国际象棋和惠斯特, for lavish oyster dinners, and sleigh rides with his wife Louisa Catherine.
约翰·昆西(John Quincy)贯穿整个19世纪20年代的日记，揭示了他和他的家人在共和早期和维多利亚时代之间经常被遗忘的十年中如何庆祝圣诞节的深刻见解. Adams wrote daily in his diary throughout his life, 多亏了MHS的亚当斯编辑们的数字化努力, 我们可以很容易地发现这位迷人的前总统是如何庆祝圣诞节的, 以及他的圣诞作品在19世纪20年代的变化. No Christmas at the Adams house was the same, 很明显，约翰·昆西在那十年里没有建立任何家庭传统. 虽然没有交换礼物，但这个节日还是很热闹，也很愉快. 他的大部分圣诞条目读起来就像政治报纸上的信息和国会八卦, 但每页都能瞥见他的家庭生活.
In the 1820s, John Quincy and Louisa Catherine’s three sons were, at different times, enrolled at Harvard, and the family’s celebratory season began once George, John, and Charles Francis arrived to Washington D.C. 他们从马萨诸塞州出发，经历了漫长而危险的冰天雪地的旅程. For the boys it was an exciting escape from their studies, 然而约翰·昆西把他们的“寒假”解释为额外的学习时间. It was hardly a festive way to enjoy the holidays, 但在某种程度上，这是约翰·昆西与孩子们利记手机官网的一种方式，可以衡量他们每一年的教育和个人进步. For him, 假期是回顾即将结束的一年的时候, 就像我们在新年为自己的成就制作蒙太奇一样. 对他来说，重要的是让他的儿子们接触到一个有启发性和学术性的假期, and scholarship was John Quincy’s greatest love. To him, the ideal leisurely day was one spent in his study, 滔滔不绝地阅读伟大的道德诗歌或有关度量衡的统计数据. His perfect holiday was a day of uninterrupted reading. 不幸的是，他的家人并不完全赞同他对永久学习的热爱! On Christmas day 1820, 约翰·昆西让他的儿子们读蒲柏的《利记APP官网手机版》，读得冗长乏味, as he put it, “a poem suited to the day, 我自己在比我儿子查尔斯更早的时候就非常钦佩他, the youngest person now in my family. 除了乔治，没有一个人对这件事表现出丝毫的兴趣, 他们当中也没有一个人对文学有兴趣.也许他意识到他的儿子们需要一个快乐的假期, 阅读道德文学并不是他们想要的.
In the following few years, as his life became busier and busier, 从他的圣诞日记中可以看出，他对这一天的庆祝活动不那么感兴趣了, 而且对这一天背后的社会意义更感兴趣, that is, the morals that one could learn from the Christmas season. 在1822年和1828年的圣诞节，他都写了利记APP官网手机版宗教宽容在美国社会中的重要性. Though he was a Unitarian, 他利用圣诞节的机会参加其他教派的礼拜活动, 包括两次在白宫附近的天主教堂做弥撒. For him, 圣诞节首先是一个象征着世界和平与友谊的日子:“在所有其他的圣诞节, 每一个教派的人都应该忘记他们所有的仇恨和纷争, and adhere to the Law of Love.” For him, 圣诞节并不是一个充满欢乐的季节, the balls and feasts and garlands, 但这是一个反思他信仰的道德以及在19世纪成为所有人的朋友意味着什么的时候. 他参加的布道会在圣诞节那天严肃地宣讲《利记APP官网手机版》, rather than the more uplifting Nativity story, 他做完礼拜回到家，显然急于在日记中写下内省而又充满希望的段落.
虽然约翰·昆西·亚当斯(John Quincy Adams)不像我们今天那样庆祝节日——当然，他每年的日记中都没有提到鲁道夫或商业购物——但我们或许都能从他每年圣诞节的日记中得到一些启示. He spent each holiday thinking through how best to improve himself and the world around him; how to strengthen his friendships and his relationships with his family; and how to find peace and reflection at the end of each passing year. And, as John Quincy might wish for, 我们都可以在打开礼物和宴会后用一两个小时来享受一本好书!