The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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NEW YORK—Christmas Day has gone, and let me tell you what a happy day it was for all of us.

I went to the Christmas Eve midnight service and then, having no children to wake me for stockings—my youngest son and daughter-in-law have taken over the responsibility of this particular Christmas morning activity—I slept peacefully until it was time to give some happy but hungry members of my household some breakfast.

There were 19 of us for Christmas dinner, and even the littlest ones behaved fairly well, though a long meal is rather a trial for them.

After lunch there were naps and finally, as dusk began to fall, my small Christmas tree was lighted and everyone gathered in my living room to open the remainder of their Christmas presents.

They had been unable to resist opening a few things under their own Christmas tree in the morning!

Only nine of us remained in the house for a pickup evening meal, and I succeeded in setting aside a nice, quiet period to play all the new records that had been given me.

On the whole, this was a quiet and delightful Christmas Day, with many members of the family and some dear friends gathered together, and telephone conversations with a number of others.

Telephoning of friends and relatives is always a feature of our Christmas Day, and we wait anxiously to know whether the calls will get through. Of course, everyone else does the same thing, and it is impossible for the telephone company to get all the calls through at the hours one desires. So I am always happy if, before we go to bed Christmas night, I have succeeded in talking to my children who are far away.

I received in the mail the other day a photograph of Ambassador Carlos P. Romulo, who is co-chairman of World Brotherhood. In it, he is sitting at a desk covered with essays received in the contest which World Brotherhood, Inc., inaugurated as part of World Brotherhood Week, which this year will be February 16-23.

The subject of the essays was, "What World Brotherhood Means to Me," and the contest was open to individuals over 18 from all countries with the exception of the U.S. and Canada. There will be four winners chosen from different areas of the world—Europe, Latin America, the Far East, Africa and the Middle East.

The Voice of America broadcast the rules of the contest. The winners will be flown to this country to participate in Brotherhood Week ceremonies in big cities. One hundred and five countries and protectorates have sent in contributions.

This changes World Brotherhood Week from a national observance, giving it an international quality which, I think, adds great value. I hope, too, that bringing people here from other countries will be valuable to us.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1957, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, December 27, 1957

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

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MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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