historysquee: Christmas under Cromwell After the Reformation, certain Protestant groups, such as Pu

historysquee:

Christmas under Cromwell

After the Reformation, certain Protestant groups, such as Puritans, began to see Christmas is a negative way. It was associated with Catholicism and also with drunkenness and promiscuity. After the Parliamentary forces won the Civil War, Christmas was banned in 1647. People were banned from attended any kind of religious services on Christmas Day and all shops were forced to stay open. There were many protests and riots about this across the country. Canterbury was held by rioters for weeks, who decorated places with holly and sang royalist carols. Many people secretly celebrated Christmas despite the laws and were arrested for these attempts.

Charles II ended the ban when he was restored the throne in 1660 and celebrated the return of Christmas in style, with all old traditions being brought back. This in turn, was viewed with disgust by many Puritans.