That Time American Colonies Banned Christmas
“We don’t do that here.” - Puritans
Christmas, a time of family gathering and gift-giving. A time when you might listen to some festive music, ignoring the religious overtones while you try to cover up your disappointment at a gift from your aunt that’s a size too small.
Who would ever want to ban this time-honored traditional day? One of the probably least fun groups in all history, that’s who. The Puritans of the 17th century… BUT, to be fair, Christmas was a bit different back then.
The Puritans
If you don’t know the Puritans, they were basically a group of Protestants who believed the Church of England had lost its way and needed to be purified of Roman Catholic practices. Some who left England felt they could create a purified church in the American Colonies to set an example for England. One of these examples apparently is telling Christmas to fuck right off.
“Well then, guess I’ll go on break.”
But why did they start this war on Christmas?
Well, Christmas wasn’t exactly as peaceful as it is today, it was more of a raucous party. Excessive eating, drinking, partying, and gambling out on the streets were common and many men would dress as women to go out and beg for food and drinks from homes. Those who didn’t provide food were often threatened with violence and vandalism. Think of it like an aggressive Halloween mixed with St. Patrick’s day. Oh, and it lasted for about 12 days.
Does that mean the Puritans were solely party poopers? Not really, there were a few other reasons why the Puritans called Christmas, “Foolstide”.
The Puritans were completely aware that the Church only chose to celebrate Christmas in December because of the pagan festival of Saturnalia that took place at the same time. Knowing that Christmas had no actual basis in the bible or any other religious texts made them turn their nose at the practice.
So when people started trying to celebrate Christmas in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century, the Puritan colonists including Governor William Bradford put their Grinch masks on and shut it down. Though they couldn’t go as far as making it illegal… until 1659.
Puritans Come into Power
Across the ocean, England was going through a series of civil wars, and guess who came into power in the 1640s? The Puritans. This gave the Puritans in the colonies more confidence to start passing laws banning Catholic celebrations. In 1659 the celebration of Christmas was outright illegal. Those who were caught celebrating had to pay 5 shillings.
Everything was going the Puritan’s way until the following year when the Puritans lost power in England, yet this didn’t change the laws immediately. It wasn’t until 1681 that the law banning Christmas was finally repealed and the damage had already been done.
In 1686 when Governor Edmund Andros attended Christmas day service in Boston, he had to be guarded by redcoats against possible angry protestors. The slow change to accept Christmas in the colonies and states lasted almost 200 years with it not becoming a public holiday in Massachusetts until 1856.
Quick Facts
Christmas wasn’t the only holiday banned in New England in 1659, Easter was also on the chopping block as was Valentine's day since they also had pagan origins.
Governor Edmund Andros was so hated the Puritan colonists eventually revolted and imprisoned him in 1689
