The exact words
““Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.”Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, chapter 1, “Playing Pilgrims” (1868)
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
A line celebrating presents as the heart of Christmas.
A line celebrating presents as the heart of Christmas.
Closer to the original
Alcott starts with the complaint so she can answer it. Within a chapter the girls spend their own small savings on gifts for their mother and give away their breakfast.
Alcott starts with the complaint so she can answer it. Within a chapter the girls spend their own small savings on gifts for their mother and give away their breakfast.
Timeline
- 1868Little Women opens with the four March sisters complaining by the fire. Their father is away at the Civil War, money is short, and their mother has suggested no presents that Christmas.
- 1868In chapter 2 the sisters give their Christmas breakfast to a poor family, the Hummels, and are rewarded with a surprise feast from their neighbor.
- TodayThe line is one of the best-known openings in American fiction and is quoted every December, often with a smile.
Use it in a speech
As Jo March grumbles in Little Women, Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents. Luckily, by the end of the chapter she works out that the best ones are the ones you give.
~10 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “without any presents”
Best spotbefore opening gifts
Little Women opens with a complaint, “Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,” and spends its first chapters quietly proving Jo wrong.
~8 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in writing
Best spotopening sentence
Questions people ask
Who says “Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents”?
Jo March, in the first line of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1868).
Why don't the March sisters get presents?
Their father is serving in the Civil War, the family is poor, and their mother suggests they skip presents because so many men are suffering in the army.
What happens next?
The sisters decide to buy small gifts for their mother instead, and on Christmas morning they give their breakfast to a poor neighbor family.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLAAlcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Chapter 1, opening line. 1868. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/514.
APAAlcott, L. M. (1868). Little Women. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/514
CHICAGOLouisa May Alcott, Little Women, Chapter 1, opening line, 1868.
IN TEXT (APA)(Alcott, 1868)