| Christmas
in Plains
by Jimmy Carter, 2001
In a beautifully rendered portrait, Jimmy
Carter remember the Christmas days of
his Plains Boyhood–the simplicity
of family and community gift-giving,
his father’s eggnog, the children’s
house decorations, the school Nativity
pageant, the fireworks, Luke’s
story of the birth of Christ, and the
poignancy of his black neighbors’
poverty.
Later, away at Annapolis, he always
went home to Plains, and during his
Navy years, when he and Rosalynn were
raising their young family, they spent
their Christmases together re-creating
for their children the holiday festivities
of their youth.
Since the Carters returned home to Plains
for good, they have always been there
on Christmas Day, with only one exception
in forty-eight years: In 1980, with
American held hostage in Iran, Jimmy,
Rosalynn, and Amy went by themselves
to Camp David, where they felt lonely.
Amy suggested that they invite the White
House staff and their families to join
them and to celebrate.
Nowadays the Carters’ large family
is still together at Christmastime,
offering each other the gifts and the
lifelong rituals that mark this day
for them.
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