The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 10, 1979, Page Page 8, Image 8
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By Karen Moody
Gam?cock Staff Writer
You may think that it's a bit silly
of me to be writing about Christmas.
After all, Christmas is
probably the best known holiday of
the year. Or is it?
For instance did you know that
Christmas was officially against
the law in the New England states
until the later part of the
nineteenth century (that's the
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anyone want to outlaw Christmas?
The story goes back to the
Middle Ages. By about 1100, all of
the nations in Europe had accepted
Christianity. From the twelfth to
the sixteenth centuries, Christmas
was celebrated with great revelry.
Many Christmas carols and plays
were written at this time. '
Then came the Reformation.
Everything colorful and joyful was
suppressed by the Puritans, including
all but the strict religious
observances of Christmas.
The Puritans felt that no feast of
human origin should be greater
than the Sabbath. Since Christmas
was the main non-Sabbath holiday,
it was against Christmas that they
directed their anger. It was
declared pagan, and its practice
was said to be sinful.
The Puritans finally came to
power in England, and proceeded
to outlaw Christmas. In 1642, ordinances
were passed to outlaw
Christmas and its practices. It
didn't work.
The Puritans launched a fierce
attack on the "sinful" holiday. It
was called "the anti-Christ Mass,
idolatry, and an abomination."
Finally, on June 3, 1647,
Parliament ordained that the
Feast of Christmas was no longer
to be observed, on pain of
punishment.
The people of England protested
strongly. The clashes were
described as "skull-breaking" and
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who tried to celebrate Christmas
were arrested and jailed. Soon,
December 25 became just another
workday.
After the revival of the old
monarchy in the 1660s, Christmas
was revived, too. But the religious
observances were no longer
conducted by each family in their
own homes These religions
aspects .were left up to the
ministers, and the home
celebrations consisted more of
feasting and singing.
Nfext, the story travels with the
3uritans to America. Even though
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they were overthrown in England,
their hold over New England
remained strong. Until 1856,
Christmas in New England was,
legally, another day of labor.
Emnlovers who wanted to fire an
employee had a legal excuse if the
employee felled to come to work
on Christmas.
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Among the
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Front row, from left to rig
Mark Chevalier, James Ro
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hristmas
Finally, the Irish immigrants
arrived, bringing with them their
Christmas traditions and enthusiasm.
The idea of Christmas
began to flourish, and it continues
to do so today.
And you thought that you knew
all about Christmas!
Wmaxtrt
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bt: Leigh Grogan, Russell Pace, Steve Riddell, Janet Gibson,
kosny Back row: Mark Platte, Michael Gooding, Brian Duncan.
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