Experience the American dream with today’s Patriot of the Past interview. I’m your host, John Gillespie.
It’s December 17, 1778. I’m with General Baron Von Steuben at the dock. He has just arrived from Germany.
JG: “General Von Steuben, are your Christmas traditions in Germany anything like American Christmas traditions?”
BVS: “Yeah, we have the Christmas tree with lighted candles. We sing Silent Night, You have many German-Americans who’ve brought our traditions over to America. And most of all, we worship Christ on Christmas Day,”
General Von Steuben not only celebrated Christmas in America in 1778, he also trained the Continental Army well enough to celebrate victory over the British.
Read more about the German Christmas traditions celebrated in America.
John and Jan Gillespie are the founders of the Rawhide Boys’ Ranch; they have fostered 351 teenagers and wrote the book Our 351 Sons; they have also assisted numerous churches in developing youth programs and expanding their total church ministries. After running for U.S. Senate, John founded 1776 American Dream, which exists to demonstrate the vision of our founding fathers and help our generation of youth passionately embrace those values.
