Festive African American Christmas Quotes
These African American Christmas quotes bring together holiday words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Barack and Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey, plus warm family sayings for cards and captions.
Each quote shows who said it, and popular sayings with no known author are marked. For more, see our famous African American quotes collection.
Quick Picks: African American Christmas Quotes
Five to start with for Christmas cards and family gatherings.
- “We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Christmas sermon, 1967)
- “This is a season for millions of Americans to be together with family, to continue long-held holiday traditions.” (Barack Obama, Christmas address, 2013)
- “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” (attributed to Oprah Winfrey)
- “Family and Christmas is perfection.”
- “Measure happiness, not presents.”
Christmas Words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King preached his Christmas Sermon on Peace at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta at Christmas 1967. Most of these come from that sermon.
Christmas sermon on peace
“We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1967
- “This Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. We neither have peace within nor peace without.” (Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967)
- “With this faith, we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men. It will be a glorious day.” (Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967)
- “All life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny.” (Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967)
- “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” (Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967)
- “I still have a dream, because, you know, you can’t give up in life.” (Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967)
- “What are you doing for others?” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1957)
The full 1957 line is “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” from a speech in Montgomery, Alabama.
Christmas Quotes from Barack and Michelle Obama
From the Obamas’ 2013 Christmas address from the White House.
- “This is a season for millions of Americans to be together with family, to continue long-held holiday traditions.” (Barack Obama)
- “To feed the hungry and look after the sick; to be our brother’s keeper and our sister’s keeper.” (Barack Obama)
- “Let’s pledge ourselves to living out those values by reaching out and lifting up those in our communities who could use a hand up.” (Michelle Obama)
Holiday Wisdom from Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King and Oprah
Warm words for cards, gift tags and the end of the year.
- “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” (attributed to Maya Angelou)
- “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” (attributed to Coretta Scott King)
- “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” (attributed to Oprah Winfrey)
Card favorite
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
Maya Angelou
The three in the list are widely credited to them, but we could not find an original source.
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Christmas Sayings for Family and Faith
Popular sayings for cards, ornaments and the dinner table.
- “Family and Christmas is perfection.”
- “This is the most wonderful time of the year.”
- “May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.”
- “Make it a December to remember.”
- “Think of everything to be thankful for during the holiday season.”
- “Measure happiness, not presents.”
- “May your Christmas be full of peace and joy.”
- “Spread love and happiness everywhere you go.”
- “It’s Merry Christmas, not Happy Holidays.”
Ways to Use African American Christmas Quotes
A few easy ideas for the season.
- Christmas cards: Add a quote under your family photo or inside the card.
- Ornaments: Write a short saying on a clear or wooden ornament.
- Wall art: Print a favorite on cardstock and frame it for the mantel.
- Family dinner: Read Dr. King’s question out loud and share one way to help someone this season.
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Holiday Quote Picks
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What readers ask most about these Christmas quotes.
