It’s Christmas and the country is falling apart. A week ago South Carolina seceded from the union; a month ago he was elected president. Reporters and job-seekers have flocked to Springfield to see the president-elect, who remains cool, practicing what was called then “a masterly inactivity” as he awaits the trouble and responsibility ahead of him. On Christmas Eve, 1860, Abraham Lincoln walks downtown to do some shopping, buying some fabric for his wife, and 11 handkerchiefs for gifts. The next morning he briefly joins his sons in the parlor to check Christmas stockings for gifts. Then it is back to the office for political talks with a delegation from St. Louis. He often repeats the prayer he offered after first learning he was elected: “God help me, God help me.” – Fletcher Farrar, editor
This article appears in December 25-31, 2025.
