Civilization

You Won’t Believe That U.S. City Boston Banned Christmas For Two Decades?

which u.s. city banned Christmas in 1659

Can you imagine not celebrating Christmas? Do you wonder about the significance of Christmas celebrations and gatherings? Did you know which U.S. The city banned Christmas in 1659. In this article, read more about why the town banned Christmas!

You will also get to know about why Christmas is important for a lot of people! It is a matter of devotion and dedication that has led to significant growth and development of people. Christmas and the faith attached to it matter greatly, so read the article to understand more.

The spirit of Christmas that is considered holy and people feel inspired from was at one point considered bad! Of course, it was superstition, yet people went against their consciences and stopped celebrating.

What is the purpose behind the celebration of Christmas?

Before you read about why cities like Boston and Masuchetts banned the Christmas celebration, it is important to remember the purpose behind the festival. The festival revolving around Christmas is about remembering Jesus Christ’s birth!

Considering Jesus Christ is believed to be the Son of God, the name Christmas is derived from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus)! At times, the mass service, also called Eucharist or Communion, is where the Christians pray to Christ and remember how he died and then came back to life.

The purpose is to understand how Christmas is a celebration of love where people offer services and gifts to others! They celebrate with their near and dear ones and create cultural and religious awareness worldwide.

You Won’t believe that the U.S. City Boston Banned Christmas For Two Decades?

You have to pay a fine if you wish Merry Christmas to someone, can you imagine that? Well, that is exactly what happened in Boston in the 16oos! It might sound completely unimaginable, but it is true. It was from 1659 to 1681 that Boston banned Christmas officially!

It was completely illegal to observe and celebrate Christmas during that time! You were not allowed even to feast in your house, be that for any reason! Even if you took a day off from work during the time of Christmas for some other reasons, it was punishable.

The violations by anyone were fined about five shillings, which at that time was quite steep! During the 16th century, colonization forced Bostonians not to celebrate Christmas. Wonder how fascinating the historical explanation of this event is? Read along!

Which U.S. City Banned Christmas in 1969?

It is shocking news to know that Boston, a U.S. city, banned Christmas for two decades! It was in 1659 that the 17th century Boston never saw any Christmas, and it was at one point in time punishable because it was considered illegal when anyone observed it.

It could be just taking a day off or celebrating by contributing to the needy or feasting; everything was banned for two decades. It sounds like a “war on Christmas”; however, it goes much deeper than the creation of just a deeper dystopian future.

England’s political and social climate was quite dominating, especially with the majority of the population of Boston being Puritan! The Puritans scorned the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, they have constantly rallied against the practices of Christmas celebrations.

Why Did Masuchettes Ban Christmas?

Have you heard about Christmas being banned in Massachusetts? Have you listened to the story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”? But the Puritans banning Christmas is like going one step ahead of the Grinch!

In the article, apart from Boston, I also want to bring your attention to another U.S. city, Masuchetts, which banned Christmas! The law passed against Christmas celebrations was enacted under Puritan rule, where the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first to experience the ban in 1659.

It was compulsory to work on Christmas day, so if you did not, you would be fined! It went on for at least 22 years, along with the trial at courts where individuals were fined 5 shillings, which are close to 50 dollars today! The New England Puritans expected people to leave behind the pagan traditions and practices!

Who Were The Puritans And What Problem Did They Have With Christmas?

Puritans were indistinguishable to the Pilgrims, who were English Protestants! They believed in the reformation of the Church and its practices. It was all about how they considered it completely pagan regarding the practices entertained at Christmas.

According to them, money was wasted by the Christians while the liturgy was considered too much of a catholic practice as the Fathers and Bishops at the Church were quite rich and behaving like princes!

It has been observed in both Boston and Masuchetts that the Puritans were active in banning Christmas across all households. For the Puritans, it was not just the birthday of Jesus; instead, it was more of a little consensus towards the Scripture.

Considering they followed the scripture, there was no mention of Jesus’s birthday; they didn’t feel any need to! It was more of a distraction for the Puritans as they identified Christmas as a pagan practice. Considering the celebration of Christmas was left out of any biblical texts, for them, 25th December was blasphemous!

Roman holiday, Saturnalia, was already widely famous with all its raucous parties leading to drunkenness and misbehavior. It is the pagan underpinnings of the Catholic practices that led to the Puritans hating it so!

Is It The Anti-Christmas Sentiments, Or Is There Something More…

At that point, it looked like Christmas and celebrations were under threat! But it was more than that! It was not just people whose celebration and merry-making were hateful to the Puritans. It was about a section of people trying to subdue another section of people.

Christians, on a large scale, were being dominated and subdued by the Puritans. The focus of the non-religious and the liberals was to remove the power that the Church had commanded for all these years. They also tried to remove the emotion connected with Christmas from among the people.

This will contribute to the Puritans’ overall power and energy and negate the Church’s hold and power!

What Was The Religious Ecosystem When Boston Banned Christmas For Two Decades?

What Was The Religious Ecosystem When Boston Banned Christmas For Two Decades_

If you want to know which U.S. City banned Christmas in 1659, and the reasons behind same you have to understand the religious atmosphere of the city at that time. 

Anglo-American New England religious sentiments were ruling in Boston at that time. There was a demographic complexity, and New England was probably the most prominent colony to have the reign of Puritans. As I have already mentioned, the Puritans found the celebrations and activities related to Christmas soaked in Paganism. 

To elaborate further, the Puritans, at that time, started addressing Christmas as yule. Now, yule was the Germanic tradition that was followed before Christianity. It was an attempt to build a connection between Catholic traditions and the anti-Christan legacy derived from European Pagan practices.   

Also, the Puritans in Boston were promoting Biblicism, and they were not ready to celebrate or endorse anything not written in it. They further emphasized that there was no mention of the proper birth date of Jesus, and there was nothing in the Bible regarding the celebration of Jesus’s birthday. 

Puritans Thought Of Christmas As a Time Of Social Disorder

Celebrating Christmas in Boston was seen as a time of social disorder and laziness by the Puritans. The Puritans always focussed on practicality and industriousness to maintain a status quo in society. We can see the reflection of the Puritan sentiment about Christmas in Samuel Sewall’s journals. He was a first-generation Bostonian and a judge.

Even after the lift of the ban on Christmas in 1685, Sewall continued to bear an anti-Christmas sentiment. This is evident from what he wrote on 25th December 1697. He wrote,

“Snowy day: Shops are open, and Carts and sleds come to Town with Wood … as formerly, save what abatement may be allowed on account of the weather. This morning we read in course the 14, 15, and 16 Psalms . . . I took occasion to dehort mine from Christmas-keeping, and charged them to forbear.”

How Did The Banning Of Christmas Leave A Legacy In Boston? 

How Did The Banning Of Christmas Leave A Legacy In Boston_

When Boston banned Christmas, the incident impacted the cultural legacy of Boston. Even after the official ban on Christmas was revoked, people there bore an anti-Christmas sentiment. Further, the different standpoints of the city were reflected through the forms of Christmas observance. 

The grandeur and pomp did not pour in after the ban was lifted. Unlike most cities in the USA, the Christmas celebration in Boston was most humble, and for the remaining part of the 17th century and the entire 18th century, it remained the same.

In the early 19th century, many immigrant communities, especially the Irish people, started settling in Boston. These people gave the Christmas celebration in the city a fresh new lease of life and made it a diverse and more spirited celebration. 

Final Words On Which U.S. City Banned Christmas in 1659

Celebrating Christmas was not in line with the practical and Bible-based Christianity the Puritans promoted. So as you get Boston as the answer to which U.S. city banned Christmas in 1659, you must also understand the religious and cultural sentiments at work at that time. 

However, today, Boston is like a wonderland at Christmas. The city celebrates the fusion of tradition and trend, and the cobblestone streets further help you enjoy the whiff of dark academia. 

Do you have other insights about the banning of Christmas in Boston and how the festival is celebrated today? Don’t forget to share them with us!

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sagnika sinha
Sagnika Sinha is a content writer who is passionate about writing travel vlogs, entertainment and celebrity articles and literature-based pieces. With a 4 years experience in teaching, she loves reading books. A procrastinator by nature, she loves travelling, listening to music, planting and gardening.

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