We all know about the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House and the pardon of the turkey for Thanksgiving, but what other holidays are celebrated at the White House? When did the celebrations start? According to a Classroom Resource Packet from the White House, there was a New Year's Day reception from 1801 until 1932. President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, were the first to celebrate Christmas in the White House. The Christmas celebrations were usually private. President Calvin Coolidge was the first President to preside over the public celebration that included a tree lighting ceremony in 1923. It wasn't until 1979 when the National Menorah was lit. It was lit by President Jimmy Carter. The first public Easter Egg Roll happened in 1878 and was hosted by President Rutherford B. Hayes. You may notice that Passover or the Seder dinner of Passover is not mentioned in these holidays. Now Passover is a more important holiday to Jewish people than Hanukkah. Today I get to share a book that shares about the first Seder Dinner at the White House. It is called Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder by Richard Michelson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
From the Publisher:
The true story of how a small Seder dinner on the campaign trail inspired Barack Obama to bring the tradition into the White House and host the first ever Presidential Passover celebration.In 1800, President John Adams held the first formal Christmas dinner at
the newly built White House. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes
observed Easter with a public “Egg Roll." But it wasn’t until 2009 that a US president officially celebrated Passover.
A year earlier, on the campaign trail, three staffers had to get creative in order to host a Seder dinner. They gathered in a hotel basement, joined by candidate Barack Obama. They made the most of their surroundings and modest dinner, shared the stories and rituals of the holiday, and found connections between their communities. They made a toast and a promise to a future, grander celebration: next year in the White House.
For the first time, this story is told for picture book readers by award-winning author Richard Michelson and lauded illustrator EB Lewis in this special partnership with PJ Library.
From Me:
With the beginning of spring, it is time to think about the spring holidays. Passover is an important one. It is hard to believe that the first Seder dinner at the White House didn't happen until 2009. I love how this story shares the history of how it happened. It began while President Barack Obama was on the campaign trail. He had three Jewish aides traveling with him and they were all homesick, but these three aides were also upset about missing Seder Dinner and celebrating Passover. They managed to get a few things needed to celebrate and were put in a dingy room in the basement of the hotel. Before they began Barack and other staff members asked to join them. From there a tradition began. The next year they held the Seder Dinner in the White House. Barack wanted to share the experience with his family. He also saw many common themes with the story of the Jews and the story of the Blacks in America. After all both had to fight to get out of slavery.
I love how this book shares a piece of history that I know I hadn't heard about. I also love how it shares the story of the family participating in all the traditions from asking the questions to finding the afikomen. At the end of the book there is a note from the three staff members who started this tradition as well as a photo of one of their Haggadah from the first Seder Dinner at the White House. There is also information about the first Seder Dinner and who was there as well as the author's use of artistic license to change a bit of the story (the First Dog wasn't adopted until a week later but is at the Seder Dinner in the book). There are also pages about Black history and Passover and a recipe for a flourless golden apricot cake.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful. The story reads well. The book is perfect to share how different people can celebrate and share holidays. It is a way to introduce Passover and Seder Dinners as well as share a piece of history about our Presidents. I can see it being shared in various ways in classrooms, libraries and homes. It is a wonderful true story that can be expanded on in different ways.
