Christmas Observance Forbidden by Puritan Parliament

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 15161, 19 December 1949, Page 4

Christmas Observance Forbidden by Puritan Parliament

Holding that in the wild licence the celebrations had come to involve, the inner meaning was lost, the Puritans forbade the . observance of Christmas after they gained office in the British Parliament in 1G44. Perhaps there was some justification. Beconiing easily the greatest festival of the year in England between the eleventh and seventeenth centti'ries, Christmas was celebrated on a huge scale from the Eve'until the twelfth day. In the great hollydecked halls of the feudal lords, whose hospitality extended to all their friends, tenants and household those prolonged and intense celebrations must have presented some colourful and exciting scenes. Revelling was in the hands of a capable Lord of Misrule and his jester, these two gentlemen keeping the proceedings uproarious and with ne’er a dull moment from the famed dragging in of the Yule log to the long holiday’s close. The feast—the outstanding event —was brought into the hall, heralded by the Lord of Misrule and the minstrels and heeded by the chief cook (carrying the boar’s head) followed by the servants, who boro an incredible number of dishes. Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church and before the fifth century there was no general concensus of opinion as to when it should come on the calendar, whether on January 6, March 25, or December 25. For some years in the West (as late as 353 in Rome) the birth feast was appended to the baptismal feast on January 6. Following the banning of Christmas observance there in 1644, Charles II revived the feast, though, the Scots adhered to the Puritan’s view. Gradually, the country discovered Christmas again as a Church ceremonial and a homo festival and so it has continued until present times. Many of the early inhabitants of the earth were sun-worshippers,

because the course of their lives depended on the orb’s yearly round. To aid the sun in its return from distant wanderings, feasts were hold and in the south of Europe, in Egypt and Persia, the sungods were worshipped with elaborate ceremonies in the winter solstice season. This was the fitting time to pay tribute to the ‘God of Plenty. In northern lands mid-December was a critical period, for the days became shorter and the sun was weak and far away. Thus these' ancient peoples held feasts over the period now marked as Christmas. To give the winter sun-god strength to bring him, back to life again, great bonfires were built and lit and when it became apparent that the days were growing longer there was extensive rejoicing on the promise of the lengthening days to follow.