How many times have you celebrated Christmas without giving a thought to how it all began? It was that very thought that encouraged me to do a little research. That research lead to a series of Christmas fact based articles that have been enjoyed by individuals from around the world. My only hopes are that you will enjoy them as much as the others.
I wish that I could share the entire history of Christmas with you from beginning to end right now. In order to do that I would need to write a book. I will however give you some facts that will knock your socks off, or at the very least surprise you.
Lets take a little trip to what I like to call Christmas past. We will travel all the way back to the early 17th century. Im talking about a time when a wave of religious change, the holiday known, as Christmas would be forever changed in the land of Europe. When a guy by the name of Oliver Cromwell and his puritan followers invaded England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence, which lead to the cancellation of Christmas. Eventually Charles II was restored to the throne, so was Christmas.
Waite There is more!
The group of pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. This meant that Christmas was not a holiday in the early days of America. In fact from 1659 to 1681, the act of celebrating Christmas was actually illegal in Boston. If you were caught celebrating the Christmas holiday in any way shape or form you were fined five shillings. In contrast, during the Jamestown settlement, a guy by the name Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.
As I sit here writing this article I cannot help but let my mind wonder a bit. I keep imagining living in a time where leaders who refused to celebrate Christmas controlled you. Did you know that with a stroke of a pen Christmas could be canceled again?
Sorry for the rant! I may have digressed a little. Anyway all of the nonsense continued until after the American Revolution when English customs began to fade. Hold on to your seat Congress was actually in session on December 25, 1789, which was the first Christmas under Americas new constitution. The fact of the matter is Christmas wasnt declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
Well my friend those are the facts. If you found this article to be interesting I have an entire series of Christmas related fact articles that I have released that you may want to look into. Now for the kiddies Check out the resource information below and download all of the free Christmas coloring pages that you could ever want. - 15359
I wish that I could share the entire history of Christmas with you from beginning to end right now. In order to do that I would need to write a book. I will however give you some facts that will knock your socks off, or at the very least surprise you.
Lets take a little trip to what I like to call Christmas past. We will travel all the way back to the early 17th century. Im talking about a time when a wave of religious change, the holiday known, as Christmas would be forever changed in the land of Europe. When a guy by the name of Oliver Cromwell and his puritan followers invaded England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence, which lead to the cancellation of Christmas. Eventually Charles II was restored to the throne, so was Christmas.
Waite There is more!
The group of pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. This meant that Christmas was not a holiday in the early days of America. In fact from 1659 to 1681, the act of celebrating Christmas was actually illegal in Boston. If you were caught celebrating the Christmas holiday in any way shape or form you were fined five shillings. In contrast, during the Jamestown settlement, a guy by the name Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.
As I sit here writing this article I cannot help but let my mind wonder a bit. I keep imagining living in a time where leaders who refused to celebrate Christmas controlled you. Did you know that with a stroke of a pen Christmas could be canceled again?
Sorry for the rant! I may have digressed a little. Anyway all of the nonsense continued until after the American Revolution when English customs began to fade. Hold on to your seat Congress was actually in session on December 25, 1789, which was the first Christmas under Americas new constitution. The fact of the matter is Christmas wasnt declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
Well my friend those are the facts. If you found this article to be interesting I have an entire series of Christmas related fact articles that I have released that you may want to look into. Now for the kiddies Check out the resource information below and download all of the free Christmas coloring pages that you could ever want. - 15359
About the Author:
This is the first in a series of Xmas history articles brought to you by Tim Beachum. You can also download Free Xmas Coloring Pages
