Christmas?

[QuasiCatholic]

Also, I don’t think the whole thing about it being “illegal” is right.

I know Wikipedia isn’t the best source in the world, but this sounds much more like the history I remember…

"In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. The ban by the Pilgrims was revoked in 1681 by English governor Sir Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.[53]

At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the Moravian settlers of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes.[82] Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[83] George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on the day after Christmas during the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time."

 

[otjm]

sometimes I think is it hard to understand people’s views and reactions from the past. Having real religious freedom as we understand it today wasn’t a political reality when the first colonies were forming. I try to keep that in mind when reviewing history. Up until the establishment of our constitution, the government or state were a controlling factor with religion and having multiple religious views and groups would be viewed as an unstable society. The new world became a convent dumping ground for unwanted groups yet those unwanted groups wanted control like what they left. We can look back on them and wonder how could they be so hypocritical but in the reality of their times, they were following the pattern of the day. I hope this make sense.

it does, and that is about the same as I was saying. They wanted out from domination, and in turn dominated.

 

[fred_conty]

Others have related how Christmas was or was not celebrated in the English colonies in America and in the early days of the United States.

Christmas has been celebrated as a federal holiday in the United States since 1870, however that only applied to Federal employees who worked in the District of Columbia. The holiday was extended to Federal employees who worked elsewhere in 1885.

Each state has its own set of holidays. They tend to correspond to Federal holidays but there is nothings that requires them to do so.

As far as Christmas being a Holy Day of Obligation, individual dioceses tended to set their own days that were based on the days recognized by the Catholic Church in England. Christmas would have been one of them. Our current American list of 6 Holy Days of Obligation, including Christmas, was established by American bishops in 1884 and approved by the Holy See in 1885.

Did Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” have any effect on this?

 

[SMHW]

Did Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” have any effect on this?

“A Christmas Carol” is often sited as a reason for spreading interest in celebrating Christmas in England and America.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

You do realize the concept of Freedom of Religion didn’t even exist in the Americas until 1791, right? That’s when the Bill of Rights was ratified …

I’m sure it didn’t exactly catch on instantly, either.

Nope. Totally missed that day in history class. Two hundred years ago was 1814 and the news station said less than 200 years. That would put it over 23 years before Christmas became legal. No, nothing usually happens instantly, but 23 plus years is a long time.