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Did the Puritans Celebrate Christmas?
http://www.stanleywhitman.org/puritanchristmas.html ^

Posted on 12/20/2005 9:45:33 AM PST by Irontank

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1 posted on 12/20/2005 9:45:35 AM PST by Irontank
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To: Irontank
The 'Christmas spirit' as we know it is generally a 19th century invention.
2 posted on 12/20/2005 9:48:41 AM PST by Borges
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To: Irontank
Religious nuts with guns bump.
3 posted on 12/20/2005 9:50:46 AM PST by Mike Darancette (Mesocons for Rice '08)
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To: Borges

Catholics have been keeping Christmas as a day of festivity, merriment and generosity for centuries before 1776.


4 posted on 12/20/2005 9:52:46 AM PST by wideawake
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To: Borges

The reason they did not celebrate, is because their theological and politcal opponents did.


5 posted on 12/20/2005 9:53:42 AM PST by proxy_user
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To: Irontank

Who cares...they were strange to say the least.


6 posted on 12/20/2005 9:56:31 AM PST by dinok
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To: wideawake
By 'Christmas spirit' I should clarify as the virtual secularization of the holiday into a general feel-good 'season'. A Victorian Professor once told me that Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' was among the origins of the shift.
7 posted on 12/20/2005 9:58:25 AM PST by Borges
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To: Irontank

This article seems like one of those attack on Christmas rants. Author trying to slip one under the radar from the left wing.

Make a joyful noise unto the world and kick Scrooge in the crotch...ho ho ho!


8 posted on 12/20/2005 9:58:54 AM PST by Rain-maker
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To: Irontank

Michael Medved covers Christmas for the Puritans and US History on
his history tapes/CDs:
https://www.treefarmtapes.com/catalog/product.asp?productid=11967

Great recounting of the history of Christmas.


9 posted on 12/20/2005 10:03:42 AM PST by VOA
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To: Irontank

Man, the Puritans sure were uptite. Live a little. have fun, have a feast...kill the fattened calf, give gifts and break open the chamagne.


10 posted on 12/20/2005 10:06:58 AM PST by bethelgrad (for God, country, the Marine Corps, and now the Navy Chaplain Corps OOH RAH!)
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To: Irontank

The Pilgrims didn't celebrate anything. They were a very uptight bunch.


11 posted on 12/20/2005 10:14:06 AM PST by Beckwith (The liberal press has picked sides ... and they have sided with the Islamofascists)
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To: bethelgrad
........and break open the chamagne

They didn't need Christmas, they had their ale's and stong drink and plenty of it and were happy and content.

12 posted on 12/20/2005 10:23:54 AM PST by ReformedBeckite
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To: Irontank
They were proud of observing Thanksgiving as the most important day of the year and self-righteous in refusing to observe Christmas day, which they considered an emblem of the Roman Catholic Church.

The other day, I was just going through an old 1950's children's book called "Crusade: Adventures From Our Catholic Heritage" that I picked up used for a dollar...

And, right under Christmas, it stated: "The Puritans in New England tried to do away with Christmas, as they wanted to get rid of all things Catholic. They started Thanksgiving in its stead, but the American people keep Christmas and Thanksgiving, too."

I think most people would be surprised to know that.

13 posted on 12/20/2005 10:53:51 AM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: Tired of Taxes
And, right under Christmas, it stated: "The Puritans in New England tried to do away with Christmas, as they wanted to get rid of all things Catholic. They started Thanksgiving in its stead, but the American people keep Christmas and Thanksgiving, too."

I always did like the Puritans.... < grin >
14 posted on 12/20/2005 11:00:04 AM PST by safisoft (Give me Torah!)
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To: Borges

They didn't celebrate Christmas in Hawaii for a long time either, because it was Christianized by New England missionaries.


15 posted on 12/20/2005 11:02:52 AM PST by kaehurowing
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To: Irontank
Maybe that's why the Catholics are still around and the Puritans aren't.

Party on, Saints!

16 posted on 12/20/2005 11:04:35 AM PST by meowmeow (Meow! Meow!)
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To: bethelgrad
Man, the Puritans sure were uptite

H.L. Mencken once defined Puritanism as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy"

17 posted on 12/20/2005 11:05:08 AM PST by Irontank (Let them revere nothing but religion, morality and liberty -- John Adams)
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To: Tired of Taxes
I think most people would be surprised to know that

Considering the bit on Thanksgiving is wrong, I know I'm suprised

Two years before the Pilgrims on December 4, 1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Plantation in what is now Charles City, Virginia. The group's charter required that the day of arrival be observed yearly as a day of thanksgiving to God. Captain John Woodleaf held the service of thanksgiving. Here is the section of the Charter of Berkley Plantation which specifies the thanksgiving service:

"Wee ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty god."

18 posted on 12/20/2005 11:07:17 AM PST by billbears (Deo Vindice)
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To: VOA

After hearing Medved go on and on about how brilliant
the gay cowboy movie is, I no longer listen to him!


19 posted on 12/20/2005 11:11:23 AM PST by Lesforlife ("For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb . . ." Psalm 139:13)
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To: meowmeow

"Maybe that's why the Catholics are still around and the Puritans aren't."


Oh, we're still here. We just take a less public profile.

And we're not too worked up about Christmas any more, although all the debate about the de-Christianization of Christmas essentially is simply repeating the problems we had with it, mainly that the birth of Jesus was being used as an excuse for commercial profit and debauchery.


20 posted on 12/20/2005 12:20:36 PM PST by kaehurowing
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