Above: “Gathering Christmas Evergreens” by Alice Barber. Harper’s Weekly, 1889. Hand colored later.
Christmas celebrations among free and enslaved Black communities in early 19th-century Delaware highlighted the stark contrast between their experiences of freedom and bondage. This divide was especially noticeable due to the independent Black churches that were becoming central to the cultural and religious lives of free African Americans. “Delaware and Delawareans played key roles in the development of independent black churches in the United States,” noted Constance J. Cooper and Lewis V. Baldwin in “Forging Faith, Building Freedom: African American Faith Experiences in Delaware, 1800-1980.”
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, autonomous Black churches rose in Delaware, laying the foundation for unique African American Christmas traditions. Churches like the Union Church of Africans, founded by Peter Spencer in Wilmington in 1813, gave free Blacks a space to worship and celebrate holidays their own way, free from white control.
For free Black communities, Christmas was a time of joy, cultural pride, and remembrance. Church leaders would organize religious services, social gatherings, feasts, and other activities, likely similar to events such as the August Quarterly festival started by Peter Spencer. The August Quarterly, first held in 1814, became an annual religious and cultural gathering in Wilmington, bringing together free Black people and enslaved individuals to celebrate faith, freedom, and community. Cooper and Baldwin describe such gatherings as featuring “preaching, singing, prayer meetings, love feasts, and other forms of worship,” which were probably part of Christmas celebrations as well.
These gatherings carried deep meaning. They were an acknowledgement of hard-won freedoms, a chance to express cultural identity, and an opportunity to strengthen community bonds. They also stood as reminders of the ongoing fight for equality and the suffering of those still enslaved. Interaction between free and enslaved communities during these holidays added complexity to the gatherings. Enslaved people sometimes used events like the August Quarterly as opportunities to escape, suggesting that Christmas might have offered similar moments of potential freedom for the enslaved.
The independent Black churches that emerged during this time likely provided the main communal setting for Christmas celebrations, offering a space where free Blacks could fully express their faith, culture, and joy during the holiday season. These churches became much more than places of worship. They represented a form of resistance to enslavement and segregation, explain Cooper and Baldwin, providing leadership and self-expression opportunities that were rare elsewhere.
The proportion of free Blacks varied widely across Delaware’s counties. By 1800, 59.9% of New Castle County’s Black population was free, according to Gary B. Nash and Miles Albrook Stanley in their article “The travail of Delaware slave families in the early republic,” published in the journal Slavery & Abolition. The percentage of free Blacks in Kent County was even higher, with 7 to 8 out of every 10 Blacks being free in most hundreds. Sussex County, however, showed more variation, with the percentage of free Blacks ranging from 13% to 50% across different hundreds. This demographic reality would have shaped the nature of Christmas gatherings in different parts of the state, with areas having a higher proportion of free Blacks enjoying self-reliant and elaborate festivities.
In contrast, enslaved individuals experienced Christmas very differently. Slave owners controlled their celebrations, although some enslaved individuals were given small concessions during the holidays. The differences between free and enslaved Christmas experiences reflected the broader struggle for freedom that defined African American life at the time.
An interview with former slave Jeremiah “Old Jerry” Deputy, published in the October 1957 Delaware Folklore Bulletin, provides a firsthand account of controlled experiences:
“Colored hands always got a holiday—Christmas—as long as the log lasted, so we would cut one as big as we could get in the house. One Christmas we had one ready that would last, a black gum we had cut and left in the mud to soak. Christmas morning we hauled it to the kitchen door with a mule, and then rolled it into the fireplace.”
Similarly, John W. Tillman, an escaped slave who later published his “Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels of John W. Tillman” in 1896, describes the harsh conditions during Christmas under his Smyrna, DE master:
“My home at William Rophwell’s was very rough indeed. He was a hard master with me. He was a great church man, too—a Sunday Presbyterian Christian. This was the kind of ration the slave-holder fed us on: some cornbread and a little blind fish, and some old rye coffee without sweeting. In regard to my clothes, they were a scarce article. I got one suit of clothes a year and a pair of shoes, at Christmas, and we got no more until the next Christmas. I had no change of clothes and had to work out in all kinds of weather, from early morning until late at night.”
However, for some enslaved individuals in Delaware, Christmas held a different significance beyond these limited material concessions. Christmas was often a time when slaveholders felt their conscience stir, leading to acts of manumission, says Patience Essah in “A House Divided: Slavery and Emancipation in Delaware, 1638-1865.”
“Owners freeing slaves out of a Christian conscience chose Christmas and the New Year season to express their benevolence,” she writes. “The former, celebrating the birth of Christ and the Christian faith, and the latter, hopefully a better new year, seemed a fitting time to reflect on Christian conscience and to display a sense of charity and generosity. Both holidays symbolized new beginnings: a time for hope, a celebration of one’s blessings, and a call to practice benevolence.”
This practice imbued Christmas with an additional layer of meaning and hope for enslaved people in the First State. The holiday represented not just a brief respite from labor or small material gifts, but the potential for freedom itself. Essah provides specific examples of this practice:
“Unquestionably, the Christmas season worked its special magic on slaveholder Spencer Lacey of Sussex County. On 5 December 1791 he executed deeds of manumission for all his slaves because he was ‘convinced of the greatest impropriety of holding . . . Fellow creatures in slavery.’ Complete freedom for all the slaves would be granted on Christmas Day, but in different years: emancipation for nineteen-year-old Mose would fall on Christmas Day in 1793; thirteen-year-old Sam would be free Christmas Day 1799; while eight-year-old Nice would receive her freedom on Christmas Day in 1803.”
These Christmas manumissions added a profound dimension to the holiday for enslaved people. While not all slaves could expect such an outcome, the knowledge that it was possible likely infused the season with heightened anticipation and hope.
Nash and Stanley’s research mentions the Duck Creek Manumission Book (1774-1792), kept by Warner Mifflin, a Quaker who recorded manumission deeds. This suggests that religious groups, particularly Quakers, played a significant role in the freeing of slaves during this period. Methodism was also growing rapidly in Delaware during this period, which likely influenced the development of African American religious practices.
Christmas presented opportunities for enslaved individuals to seize their own freedom, beyond the possibility of manumission. In “A House Divided” Essah describes how some enslaved people used the holiday season as a cover for escape attempts. The relaxed atmosphere and increased movement during Christmas celebrations provided ideal conditions for those seeking freedom.
Essah recounts several examples of such escapes. In one instance, “Charles and Sam took advantage of the Christmas celebration to escape to Philadelphia. Borrowing passes from free black friends living in Wilmington, they used the fake identities until Sam was apprehended as he attempted to board a ship in Philadelphia. Charles successfully eluded capture.” This account demonstrates not only the strategic use of the holiday for escape but also the networks of support that existed between free and enslaved Black communities.
Another example shows how the extended holiday period could be used for escape: “During the 1764 New Year holiday, Sam received permission to visit friends in Philadelphia; he knew the city very well, having been employed there as a slave. Sam chose to make the visit a permanent one, the beginning of his life as a self-made free black.” These narratives highlight how the Christmas and New Year period could become a gateway to freedom for those bold enough to seize the opportunity.
Nash and Stanley’s research highlights how family structures among enslaved people in Delaware shaped their Christmas experiences. Their study shows a variety of family compositions that directly influenced holiday celebrations, reflecting the complex social dynamics of enslaved communities.
In 1776, about 18% of slave families were co-parent households. These families may have had more traditional Christmas gatherings, with both parents present for meals or gift-giving, offering a brief sense of normalcy despite their enslaved status.
Maryland Department, Photograph Collection; H1115 / Enoch Pratt Free Library / State Library Resource Center
Single-parent families were more common, with one-third of small slaveholdings (1-8 slaves) consisting only of women and children. These families faced challenges, as mothers had to create festive experiences alone, while children may have felt the absence of a father more deeply during the holidays.
Only 2% of small slaveholdings consisted solely of men and their offspring. These rare family units likely had different holiday practices, as fathers tried to maintain traditions despite the absence of a mother.
Many enslaved children began working as early as five or six, making Christmas one of the few times they could enjoy childhood activities or rest. The holiday was significant as a rare break from the grueling work routines.
These family structures and labor realities deeply influenced Christmas for enslaved people in Delaware. Christmas gatherings, however modest, reinforced family bonds and cultural expression, offering brief moments of respite. Despite overwhelming challenges, enslaved individuals found ways to imbue the season with meaning and preserve family traditions.
The holiday season brought one additional increased risk for free Blacks. Nash and Stanley mention the Patty Cannon kidnapping gang, which operated in Sussex County during this period. Her bounty hunter operations posed a constant threat to free Black communities, constantly casting a shadow over holiday celebrations.
Christmas highlighted the stark differences between free and enslaved statuses, while also offering hope for those still in bondage. The antebellum era’s blend of celebration, family, freedom, and danger made it an emotional roller coaster for Delaware’s Black communities, both free and enslaved.
