Immoral and Illegal Christmas

I come from Protestant stock, a direct descendant (13 generations!) of the Puritans of New England.  Christmas was something my ancestors did not do. In fact, The State of Massachusetts actually made it was illegal to celebrate Christmas from 1659 to 1681!  I find this ironic as today’s staunch Protestants are demanding Christmas be mentioned by name, when the early American Protestants made laws to forbid it.

The Puritans argument against Christmas was based on two issues: 

The 1^st objection was a theological one. There is no specific date for its celebration in the Bible. If God didn’t give it in the Bible, then it was not supposed to be a day of observance. Christmas was a Catholic invention, built on top of the long time pagan celebration of Yule. Both Pagan and Catholic in its roots, and not Bible based, made Christmas an ungodly holiday. 

The second reason for their disdain was a social objection; Christmas time was very rowdy. When the Catholic Church in the 4^th century decided to link the birth of Christ to the long time celebration of Yule, Christmas inherited Yule’s traditions, including the feasting, drinking, and revelry. By the 1600s, Christmas was a very boisterous season for feasting and drinking – and not working.  There was a lot of aggressive behavior.  At times it was a public nuisance and actually violent.  
 

The Reverend Mather in 1687 wrote; 

“The generality of Christmas-keepers observe that festival after such a manner as is highly dishonorable to the name of Christ. How few are there comparatively that spend those holidays after a holy manner. But they are consumed in compotations, in interludes, in playing cards, in revellings, in excess of wine, in mad mirth.” 

After all, they left England to get away from this type of behavior.   

These issues of Christmas go on. How sober or riotous is the Christmas season remains a controversy. Employers and employees continue to fight over ‘time off at Christmas’.   What Christmas is – and who owns it – continues.