![]() Some slaves were able to see their families on other plantations, get married, receive gifts from their “master”, and eat special food. Did you know that in some parts of the country, slaves were given a yule log to burn in the “big house” and as long as the log burned, they were granted rest during the holiday? If they were lucky and burned the log right, it would last up until the new year. The slaves that actually got a break, would usually only last a couple of days. ![]() During this time is when giving gifts, singing Christmas carols, and extravagant decorations took place in white American culture. In the 1830s, the slaveholding states Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas were the first in the United States to make Christmas a state holiday. Only some slaves were able to have somewhat of a break from the brutality they lived day in and day out. The merry Christmas we know today in America is not what Black people knew during slavery in the early 1800s. ![]()
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