the Puritans: a criminal offense, Christmas must be stopped

[G_j]

http://www.christianodyssey.com/history/christmas.htm

<snip>
the Puritans

Since the Christmas celebration was not mentioned in Scripture, the Puritans concluded that it must be stopped. When the group came to political power in England under Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), they immediately proceeded to outlaw Christmas. Cromwell and the Puritans even banned special church services, not just on Christmas but also on Easter and Pentecost. Christmas Day was a regular work day and shops remained open. Parliament was to sit as it usually did. Criers were sometimes sent through the streets, shouting, "No Christmas today, no Christmas today."

The year 1642 saw the first ordinance issued forbidding church services and civic festivities on Christmas day. These were issued regularly in the ensuing years. On June 8, 1645, the Puritan-dominated Parliament abolished the observance of Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide and the Saints’ days. In 1660, things changed. The Monarchy was re-established, and the Puritan clergy were expelled from the Church of England. Many Puritans migrated to New England in America, beginning in the second decade of the 17th century.

In Puritan New England, Christmas was a regular workday, and any violation of this was punishable by fine or dismissal. In 1659, the Massachusetts Puritans declared the observation of Christmas to be a criminal offense. Offenders had to pay five shillings as a fine. In Massachusetts, Dec. 25 did not become a legal holiday until 1856. It is hard to realize now that worship on Christmas was outlawed in New England until the second half of the 19th century.

<snip>

[Spinzonner]

1. So the Country's founders were against Christmas

If it was good enough for our forefathers it ought to be good enough for us.

SO, what do you think, Tony ?

[LWolf]

2. It looks like the "war on christmas"

is a lot older than the current mouthpieces want to acknowledge, doesn't it? Outlawed by some of the very people they claim make us a "christian" nation.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. I recall reading that in the colonies circa 1659 they banned x-mas

as pagan and immoral.

Assuming that Bill O'Rielly knows how to read, shouldn't someone let him know the facts for a change?

[Vogon_Glory]

4. So You Noticed That Too! Maybe Someone Should Alert bin Reilly

So you also noticed that the Puritans outlawed Christmas in England and in New England, too. Maybe someone should inform Faux News' bin Reilly. Maybe he can make it a talking point for his next harangue.

:evilgrin:

[Bridget Burke]

5. They're still out there!

How then did we receive our holidays (holy days) with their customs and traditions -- Christmas as well as Easter, Halloween, and Mardi Gras? Each of them has come to us from ancient Babylon, through Rome, through the Roman Catholic church.

It was for this very reason that in Calvin's Geneva you could have been fined or imprisoned for celebrating Christmas. It was at the request of the Westminster Assembly that the English Parliament in 1644 passed an act forbidding the observance of Christmas, calling it a heathen holiday. In an appendix to their "Directory for the Public Worship of God" the Westminster divines said: "There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called 'Holy-days', having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." (See also, James Bannerman, The Church of Christ, Vol. i, pages 406-420).

When the Puritans came to America they passed similar laws. The early New Englanders worked steadily through December 25, 1620, in studied neglect of the day. About 40 years later the General Court of Massachusetts decreed punishment for those who kept the season: "...anyone who is found observing, by abstinence from labor, feasting, or any other way, any such days as Christmas Day, shall pay for every such offense five shillings."

www.swrb.com/newslett/freebook/holyday.htm

These guys are for real. Too bad the other spiritual heirs of the Puritans can't just ignore the holidays & let the rest of us celebrate as we will. Whether that involves Midnight Mass, Carols, Christmas Dinner & presents around the tree--or a couple of days off work & watching some favorite DVD's.

[Patiod]

6. My Christian religion doesn't celebrate Christmas, either

each day is supposed to be equally sacred. It's one of the few difficulties I have with Quakerism - I come from a Catholic tradition, where there's a pattern to the year, a tradition shared with Episcopalians, and one I was always very comfortable with.

I think there are Christian sects such as Jehovah's Witnesses, the Amish and the Mennonite share the same disinclination toward "Holy Days".

(True to Quaker form, however, we do have a candlelight peace vigil every Christmas Eve, though)

[Crunchy Frog]

10. We celebrated Christmas at my Quaker boarding school.

Not actual Christmas day, of course, since we were away on vacation, but we did sang Christmas songs in chorus, did a Christmas gift exchange, and other Christmasy sorts of things. Most of the Quakers that I've known have celebrated Christmas to some degree or other (though they used to leave the alcohol out of the egg nog at the parties). I wonder if that's a regional thing with Quakers, or if it pertains to certain groups.

Not trying to pry, just curious.

[Patiod]

11. Oh, no - I meant that the Official Religion (Faith & Practice) doesn't

At our Meeting, we sing carols, have a Peace Vigil, and even have a Christmas Pagent with the little ones when there are enough kids regularly attending First Day School during any given December.

It's just that the religion doesn't Officially acknowledge the primacy of any one day over any other. But since most of our members come from other Christian traditions, we all bring demands for traditional Christmas celebrations with us, and if you attended Quaker School, you know how amazingly flexible the Quakers are willing to be (unless its about non-violence, but that's another story)

[Crunchy Frog]

12. Okay, understood now. Thanks. :)

To tell you the truth, I didn't learn a whole lot about the official religion, even at my Quaker school. I learned more about Hinduism and Taoism than I learned about Quakerism. The flexibility thing is very true though.:-)

[Patiod]

13. True story you'll appreciate

I was a member of a theater group, and we used a local church's stage to put on our shows. There was constant friction, because the older members of the church often objected to the language in the plays. We're not talking Mamet - we're talking about old chestnuts which might include an occasional "Damn it" or maybe something as strong as "bitch" or some Noel Coward innuendo.

A few years later, another group, and this time we were using a local Friend's School auditorium to stage the show.

We met with someone from the school, and he said he just wanted to be check with us first that the play in no way glorified violence.

Sex or nudity? Fine.

Lots of adult language? No problem!

"Sargent York"? No way.

[Toots]

7. Sheesh it is no wonder Jefferson et al kept government separated

Very religious people seem a little off kilter to me and should not be making law..

[MountainLaurel]

9. No doubt

I've heard it said that one of the reasons the U.S. is so insane compared to Europe is that many of our initial settlers were the religious freaks Europe was sensible enough to not want.

[G_j]

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