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.
This little Christmas fact began back in the early 17th century. Due to a wave of religious transformation Christmas would be forever changed in Europe. A guy by the name of Oliver Cromwell and Puritan forces took over England in 1645. Oliver and his Puritans vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, canceled Christmas. Once Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday that we know as Christmas.
Stay with me Things are just starting to get good!
America would be forever changed when a group of pilgrims, English separatists landed in 1620. These groups of people were even more orthodox in their puritan beliefs than Cromwell. Needless to say Christmas was not the jovial holiday that was celebrated in the early days of America. In fact from 1659 to 1681, the act of celebrating Christmas was actually illegal in Boston. The powers that be had mad it illegal for any one to celebrate Christmas. The holiday was actually illegal in Boston. If caught celebrating 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.
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. - 16492
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.
This little Christmas fact began back in the early 17th century. Due to a wave of religious transformation Christmas would be forever changed in Europe. A guy by the name of Oliver Cromwell and Puritan forces took over England in 1645. Oliver and his Puritans vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, canceled Christmas. Once Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday that we know as Christmas.
Stay with me Things are just starting to get good!
America would be forever changed when a group of pilgrims, English separatists landed in 1620. These groups of people were even more orthodox in their puritan beliefs than Cromwell. Needless to say Christmas was not the jovial holiday that was celebrated in the early days of America. In fact from 1659 to 1681, the act of celebrating Christmas was actually illegal in Boston. The powers that be had mad it illegal for any one to celebrate Christmas. The holiday was actually illegal in Boston. If caught celebrating 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.
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. - 16492
About the Author:
This is the first in a series of Christmas history related articles brought to you by Tim Beachum. You can also download Free Christmas Coloring Pages
