The holiday season in today’s day and time is usually filled with sparkling lights, warm cheer, beautifully wrapped presents, and multiple reasons to give thanks and be grateful. It’s a stark difference from the experiences our enslaved ancestors had to endure during this time of the year. Join me as we shine a Historical FBA Spotlight on Christmas. 

Christmas was often a time of prosperity that led to more relaxed conditions for slaves. Usually they received items such as clothing for the upcoming year, a food delicacy, or a present beyond the bare minimum to survive and work on the plantation. It was also a time when many slaves got married and would often be granted consent for a formal wedding in the presence of a minister. 

Back then, Christmas gifts were distributed in a rather unusual ritual. Slaves and children would sneak up and capture their owners, refusing to release them until they received a gift in return. This strange, annual reversal of power occasionally led to slaves gaining real power by providing the means to buy their freedom. One such example of this is described in "Autobiography of a Female Slave" by Martha Griffith Browne when a slave who saved “Christmas gifts in money” bought their freedom. 

While it was seen as a more relaxed environment, there was only so much relaxing you could do while still being suppressed, beaten, and worked to death on a plantation. Some slaves saw the prosperous season as an opportunity to escape captivity because of the relaxed work schedules and holiday travels. Many plotted on their escape, stockpiling supplies multiple months in advance. 

Work during this time was paused to celebrate the season, and because many slaves were separated from their spouses, family, and children, they often requested passes to travel and visit their loved ones. For those escaping, this helped buy them time and explained why they were traveling while still keeping the expectation that they would return soon from their family visit. 

Harriet Tubman helped her three brothers escape on Christmas Eve in 1854 after learning they were to be sold after the holiday. They originally requested a pass to visit their mother, but secretly escaped north along the infamous Underground Railroad. Similarly in 1848, William and Ellen Craft escaped from Macon, GA with an ingenious costume to throw people off their trail. 

Christmas time embodied hope, freedom, and opportunity for some who were enslaved. It meant reconnecting with separated family members. It meant taking an extended break from the back breaking work that was never-ending throughout the rest of the year. It meant getting a little extra time to run away and attain their physical freedom. It also meant renewed spiritual fever and belief that the Lord would provide a better future and the strength to endure until the very end. 

For others however, the holidays only highlighted their lack of freedom. Some were bought and sold around this time and were effectively ripped away from everything they once knew. There were others who tried and failed to escape, who received punishment instead of freedom for the season. We also can’t forget all the slaves that were left behind when there was a successful escape. Typically security would be increased, living conditions would be tougher, and there’d be less opportunities for others to run away. 

Frederick Douglass concluded the period granted to slaves each year between Christmas and New Year’s Day was just a psychological tool of the oppressor meant to appease those who wished for freedom. It ultimately was created to benefit the system to keep our ancestors enslaved and not just to spread holiday cheer. 

As we gather around our pretty trees and unwrap presents with our families, it’s important to remember that many people before us had a very different holiday season filled with anxiety, fear, hope, and courage. We embody their FBA spirits each and every day that we fight against injustice. 

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Signed, 

Jessica Marie