New Year's Day, 1883

When the new year dawned, Ellen White was spending a few days in Oakland at the W. C. White home. Willie was in Battle Creek, having gone east to attend the 1882 General Conference session held in Rome, New York. She had received an invitation from officers of the Oakland church to be present at the Sabbath school reunion to be held New Year's night and had made the trip from Healdsburg a few days before. Mary White, urging her mother-in-law to accept the invitation and spend a few days in Oakland, wrote somewhat of the program that was planned:3BIO 208.4

They intend to have a Christmas tree, or rather a New Year's tree, and some exercises by the children, and would like an address by you. We would like to have you with us Christmas too, and would urge it strongly were it not that you dislike our climate so much and might not be able to remain till New Year's. Would want you to stay as long as you can after New Year's.3BIO 209.1

We don't intend to go into Christmas presents very heavily this year, but I tell the family that if they have any presents to make, they must wait till New Year's so as to have you with us. So you must be sure to come.—MKW to EGW, December 17, 1882.3BIO 209.2

When Ellen White received this letter she was deeply involved in writing volume 4, but she was pleased to accept Mary's invitation.3BIO 209.3

The Monday night New Year's program, in which she participated, went off well. “The exercises were good and appropriate,” Ellen wrote. “I spoke about one-half hour.” Her remarks must have been appropriate and fitted to her audience, for she says, “The children listened with interest.” Two Christmas trees were in the church, the trees and their decorations donated by the German Baptists. Offerings to the Lord were placed on one of the trees as fruit, and when gathered netted $172 for the Oakland church. Her final brief comment was that “all passed off pleasantly; nothing objectionable in the whole matter.”—Letter 8, 1883.3BIO 209.4