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!
Finishing Off…
What is the significance of Christmas in our lives? When you ask this question, you understand that faith is involved. So, imagine a city completely banning Christmas? After you read the article, you know which U.S. The town banned Christmas in 1969.
Overall, there were other places, such as Masuchetts, banning Christmas due to some religious reasons described in the article.
Comment on what you think about the superstitions related to Christmas and how the Puritans identified Christmas!
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