2007-12-22 00:26:17 · 2 answers · asked by American Spirit 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
The Puritans banned Christmas celebrations (other than church services) because they thought the festivities were too rowdy and, basically, unchristian.
From http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/xmasintr.htm ...
" The celebration of Christmas was made a crime in Massachusetts in 1659. That edict was repealed in 1681, but in 1686 the governor needed two soldiers to escort him to Christmas services. In 1706 a Boston mob smashed the windows in a church holding Christmas services. Due to the early predominance of the Dutch in New York (founded by them and first named New Amsterdam), New Yorkers celebrated Christmas from the 17th century on, but as late as 1874 Henry Ward Beecher, America's most prominent preacher, said, "To me, Christmas is a foreign day."
2007-12-22 00:36:39 · answer #1 · answered by ktrb 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Christmas was banned by law in Massachusetts in colonial days. The colonists consider it a pagan ritual.
2007-12-22 08:57:42 · answer #2 · answered by Darthsoul 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋