Are you one of those rare individuals who think out side of the box? If so then chances are you have probably wondered about Christmas. What was it like? How did it come about? Whos bright idea was it anyway?
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!
In 1620 came the arrival of a group of pilgrims, English separatists to America. These pilgrims were even more orthodox in their puritan beliefs than Oliver Cromwell. Because of there strange beliefs Christmas was not a holiday in the early days of America. As promised things are about to get even more unbelievable " 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 you were fined five shillings.
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?
Any way this nonsense continued until after the American Revolution when English customs began to fall out of favor, this included Christmas. Another thing that is a little hard to believe is that Congress was actually in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under Americas new constitution. The fact of the matter is Christmas wasnt declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
I hope that you have enjoyed this article. Please do a search or check back for the rest of my Christmas fact articles. If you are a parent and or teacher visit my library of free Christmas coloring pages " you will find the link below. While you are there take the time to look at the other categories of free stuff for your kids. - 15485
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!
In 1620 came the arrival of a group of pilgrims, English separatists to America. These pilgrims were even more orthodox in their puritan beliefs than Oliver Cromwell. Because of there strange beliefs Christmas was not a holiday in the early days of America. As promised things are about to get even more unbelievable " 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 you were fined five shillings.
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?
Any way this nonsense continued until after the American Revolution when English customs began to fall out of favor, this included Christmas. Another thing that is a little hard to believe is that Congress was actually in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under Americas new constitution. The fact of the matter is Christmas wasnt declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
I hope that you have enjoyed this article. Please do a search or check back for the rest of my Christmas fact articles. If you are a parent and or teacher visit my library of free Christmas coloring pages " you will find the link below. While you are there take the time to look at the other categories of free stuff for your kids. - 15485
About the Author:
This is the first in a series of Xmas history related articles brought to you by Tim Beachum. You can also download Free Xmas Coloring Pages
