Banning Christmas

TL;DR

Boston's earliest days saw a ban on Christmas celebrations due to Puritan beliefs and practices.

Transcript

from Boston's earliest days Christmas was not celebrated holiday goodies like pudding and mince pies were banned December the 25th was a mandatory work day and town craze walked through the streets reminding the populace no Christmas no Christmas no Christmas in fact in 1620 the Puritans spent their first Christmas in the new world building their f... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥳 Christmas celebrations were banned in Boston from its earliest days due to the Puritan belief that there was no historical or scriptural basis for celebrating it.
• 🥳 The Puritans viewed Christmas as a normal workday and saw celebrations as sinful and excessive.
• 🤕 The ban on Christmas celebrations in Boston lasted for over two centuries, until it was repealed in 1681.
• 🤕 The influence of Puritan beliefs and practices made Christmas celebrations in Boston scarce even after the ban was lifted.
• 🤕 The ban on Christmas celebrations extended to other festivities like Easter.
• 🤕 King Charles referred to his faraway Boston subjects as rebellious dogs due to their ban on Christmas celebrations.
• 🤕 The ban on festivities occurring on a Saturday night also existed in Boston.
• 🥳 It took until the mid-19th century for Christmas celebrations to become more common in Boston.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why did the Puritans ban Christmas celebrations in Boston?

The Puritans believed that there was no historical or scriptural basis for celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25th. They saw Christmas celebration as an opportunity for excessive drinking, eating, and playing sinful games.

Q: How was the ban on Christmas celebrations enforced in Boston?

Anyone found observing Christmas or similar festivities by feasting, forbearing labor, or any other way would have to pay a fine of five shillings. The ban was also extended to Easter celebrations.

Q: How did King Charles and the English appointed governor react to the ban on Christmas in Boston?

King Charles referred to his Boston subjects as rebellious dogs, and it wasn't until two years later, in 1681, that the law was repealed by the Massachusetts General Court and Governor Sir Edmund Andros.

Q: When did Christmas celebrations start to be celebrated more freely in Boston?

It wasn't until the mid-19th century, around the time of President Ulysses S. Grant declaring Christmas a national holiday in 1870, that Bostonians began to celebrate Christmas with any festive behavior.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• In the early days of Boston, Christmas celebrations like feasting and pudding were banned, and December 25th was a mandatory work day.

• The Puritans, who arrived in 1620, viewed Christmas as a normal workday and even made it a matter of conscience to work on that day.

• Christmas celebrations were later made a criminal act in Boston in 1659, and the ban extended to other festivities like Easter.