https://freerepublic.com/tag/euroholiday/ en-us Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:34:11 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2821769/posts In colonial times Christmas was frowned upon in New England and observed mostly as a private feast in mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies. The strait-laced New England Puritans, partially motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment, banned Christmas in 1659 under the guise that the holiday was pagan and that it encouraged decadence. Colonial Americans celebrated a Christmas that contained both religious and secular elements thus establishing a uniquely balanced American approach to faith. Christmas harkens back to the ancient Roman celebration of the Saturnalia, a day in which all Romans, Emperor and slave, addressed each other on a first name basis. Christmas was... A Whig Manifesto https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2821769/posts#comment Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:34:11 GMT