Puritans?????

Question

I need help. What where the puritan forms of entertainment,. thank you

Answer 1

Singing religious hymns or playing religious music, reading (especially the bible and poetry), needle arts (quilting, knitting, linen embroidery). Apparently, outdoor sports of all kinds, such as lawn bowling or early forms of tag for children, were acceptable, as long as betting or wagering did not occur and the behavior was not unseemly or looked down upon. The only toy a child could play with on a Sunday was a Noah's Ark toy and the stricter families did not allow even that. The only book you could read on Sunday was the Bible.

They believed in hard work and were against idleness and laziness, as they believed having too much free time gave rise to thoughts of Satan and of evildoing, or allowed time and opportunity for the individual to be tempted by such things.

All work and all play, for Puritans, must be dedicated to or for the glory of God. Sports were helpful in reducing idleness in the young and also for creating strong, healthy bodies that could contribute that much more effort to God's work and the necessary work of the community.

Group activities, often taking place at the church, reinforced the notion that the individual was part of a much larger group and owed their allegiance to that group, not to themselves or their own wants or needs.

Needlework was practical and edifying or uplifting, in that it helped clothe and supply the family or was sold and some of the profits then used to support the church.

Since the colonial American Puritans originally came from England, it would be helpful to know which Puritan group you are asking about; they were separated by the Atlantic Ocean and not all Puritans, here or there, were of the same religious group or background. Therefore their entertainments, like themselves, were not all the same.

See here for US Puritan info on entertainment;

http://russell.gresham.k12.or.us/Meling/newcrimeandpunish.html

All Puritans were anti-Catholic, for many reasons both religious and political, but many were against any "worldly" display of worship or overt displays of power within any religious group. Ironic, since the Puritans themselves sought to rule England and force their way of life on all Englishmen! They disagreed with the splendor and richness of the Catholic Church and its priests and felt the same towards the Church of England (they felt both were too rich and corrupt). They considered many Protestant churches, such as the Lutherans and most Presbyterians, to be the same and were against them, as well.

They believed that the pageantry and overt displays of wealth shown in these churches was reflected in acting and the theater, and that actors often played parts which mimicked the sins of man and therefore believed theater and actors were sinful.

But Puritans were not necessarily humorless people, nor meanspirited or uneducated people. Most early Puritans came from wealthy, relatively well-educated middle class families. Most did believe that any activity or pursuit that challenged God's supremacy in their daily lives was not acceptable. You were supposed to believe that God, and the love of God, was primary in your life; you could not love another person (even your wife or child) or another thing (books, art, money, work, sport) in your life more than that, or enjoy it more.

And about those witch trials. Most occured in England, France and Spain, where many hundreds of thousands of people were burnt, hung or drowned. And not all were performed by Puritans, but rather, by Kings and Queens, the Catholic Church, the Church of England, and reformed groups which were very much like the Puritans. It was more a historical and cultural practice, which was a display of political power, than a religious practice.

Here in the US there were only about 40 such executions during that same time period. There were many more trials of persons said to be witches that did not end with death on these shores, but rather with public flogging, imprisonment or some other form of punishment.

It seemed to mostly be a way of governing people by force than actually believing they were posessed or were actually witches. Those that did the punishing often knew the people they punished and knew they were not guilty of Satan worship or witchcraft; they punished them instead for "sins" they could prove, such as not being Godly enough, for playing or working on the Sabbath, for charging interest on money lent (usury), for not attending church, for gossiping, for taking God's name in vain or cursing, etc.

Women were chosen as victims more often, because early church leaders believed they had to pay for an even more grevious sin: that of original sin. They attacked them more often because in their opinion, women more often challenged their so-called God-given authority. These women were often unmarried or childless, with no male protector to stand in or advocate for them. They were seen as powerless and were perfect victims for those in power. Church leaders preyed on innocent people and played into the suspicions and superstitions of uneducated people within their midst and thus kept control of the larger group by doing so. But this attitude and behavior wasn't confined to the Puritans and their leaders, so I always like to point that out when I can.

Answer 2

Singing religious hymns, reading bible. The puritans shunned drama as sinful

Answer 3

poking their dirty nose in other people affairs and underwear !!!