When Christmas wasn't legal in America

Did you know America’s earliest settlers didn’t celebrate Christmas? The pilgrims (as history refers to them) may have ushered in the first Thanksgiving, but they were not fans of Christmas. The pilgrims were Separatists. They were much more conservative than the Puritans who want to purify the Anglican Church. Instead, the Separatists desired to start a new church that followed the Lord in a stricter fashion. They shunned anything related to paganism.

Separatist and Puritan ban the celebration
December 25, 1620 found the pilgrims frantically building shelters against the harsh winter. They had only arrived days earlier, resting only on the Sabbath. The following decades showed no inclinations to recognize the day. Both the Separatist and the Puritans who founded Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 banned Christmas celebrations.
Their reasons were both theological and moral. They believed Jesus was born in September rather than December.  Historically, December  25 was  on or near the Roman festival Saturnalia, the celebration of their Sun God, Mithra. Pope Julius I in 350 ADE supposedly chose that day to celebrate Christ’s birth to substitute a pagan ritual with a holy day. Naturally, neither the Separatists nor the Puritans desired to associate the birth of their Savior with the celebration of a pagan god.
Most Christmas celebrations in Europe went beyond a church service. Another thing that bothered our early settlers. There was much drunkenness, partying and debauchery, things they believed drew attention away from holiness, one of the pillars of their faith. Cotton Mathers, a leader of the Puritan church in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, identified those vices as playing games, cards, dancing, gluttony, and other things. That list doesn’t sound dissimilar to how we celebrate today to family game times, entertainment and overeating, except we might add football watching to the mix.

Cotton Mathers Getty Image

Vote out as a National Holiday, banned and fines
Christmas as a celebration was removed as a national holiday in England in 1645 due to a large Puritan influence in Parliament. Although it was unofficially celebrated after the workday was over. And religious services were still observed.
New England colonists banned any form of celebration in the 1600 and 1700s. Fines of five shillings, a hefty amount for most citizens, was levied against anyone who took the day off from work or was discovered feasting. The Puritans continued to ban it well into the 19th century.
Changes came slowly
As our country grew and new colonies formed, immigrants from other countries brought their Christmas traditions with them, both religious and secular. Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1739 regarding Christmas: “O blessed Season! Lov’d by Saints and Sinners/ For long devotions and even longer Dinners.”
During the Revolutionary War, Christmas was associated with England’s tyranny by many colonial New Englanders and was treated as any other day. George Washington and his men claimed a decisive victory on December 25, 1776, over the Hessian soldiers who were sleeping off a very drunken Christmas celebration.

 Even after America won their freedom, the Senate assembled on Christmas Day 1797, as did the House in 1802. Again, most of the thirteen colonies still carried on business as usual.

St Nicholas Poem and Alabama
By the mid-1800s celebrating Christmas gained popularity. Clement Clarke Moore’s Poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, published in New York in 1823 to much success shows the shift in acceptance of non-religious celebrations. Alabama was the first state to make Christmas a legal holiday in 1836, other states soon followed.
Massachusetts was the hold out. Businesses and schools stayed open through the 1850s, although the attitude was changing. Finally, President U. S. Grant declared Christmas a national holiday in 1870.
Christmas continued to change.
Along with making Christmas a national holiday came the adoption of many Christmas traditions from other cultures as our country spread from coast to coast. There are still groups today who don’t celebrate Christmas, not all for religious reasons. And unlike those in the past who were judged for celebrating, these groups are given the freedom to ignore the holiday if they desire.
Were you aware of the history behind Christmas as a holiday in America? What’s your favorite part of Christmas?

Cindy Ervin Huff, is a multi-published award-winning author. A 2018 Selah Finalist. She has a passion to encourage other writers on their journey. When she isn’t writing, she feeds her addiction to reading and enjoys her retirement with her husband of 50 plus years, Charles. Visit her at www.cindyervinhuff.com.
 

Cherishing Her Heart
Dianna Pilson takes on a new identity as Susan Sullivan after escaping from the asylum her  unsavory ex-husband put her in. She heads west with Fredrick Sullivan, her late father’s valet, pretending to be his daughter. They arrive in the small-town of Cooperville, Kansas where Fredrick has kin.  Becoming a simple woman of a lower class is challenging. She has no domestic skills, but her new Papa and his family are right there to help and keep her safe. Changing herself is much harder than she imagined, but far better than a lifetime in an asylum.
 

Monty Summerfield, a wealthy businessman, moved to Cooperville  to start over after his unscrupulous partner blew up the mine they owned with him in it. Assuming Monty was dead he  stole his identity and even his mail-order bride. After Ernie’s death, Monty has worked hard to regain his good name. Content as a bachelor he focuses on building his business interests and helping the community. Then Susan Sullivan steps off the stagecoach. He’s captivated by her, but can he risk his heart and scale the walls she’s built around hers.
As danger lurks from Susan’s past, and Monty steps up to help, can she trust him? Will their only solution lead to a happily-ever-after or bring on more trouble?

Available February 2025 Grab this link to preorder.

The History of Matrimonial Bureaus and Dating Agencies – with Giveaway By Donna Schlachter

From "A Brief History of the World's First Dating Agency"

Adam and Eve were probably the only people in history who never struggled to find a mate. After all, they were the only two people around, and God created Eve for Adam.

But from that time on, given that humans are rarely satisfied unless there’s a choice between two options, no doubt some have wondered and wandered in search of a mate. In many cultures, in the early days, the father or oldest male relative would choose a wife for his son. And fathers of daughters were always on the lookout to pair their daughter for family honor, money or land or power, and since it was done this way all the time, rarely was love or affection considered. After all, survival of the human race was more important than love, wasn’t it?

This month, we’ll explore the history of how folks who struggled to meet other folks might have solved their problem by employing a matrimonial bureau.

The first known dating agency was established in 1650, although they probably existed for years before under similar guidelines. Mr. Robinson originally set up a Citizens Advice Bureau and charged on a sliding scale according to ability to pay; peasants got advice at no charge. He was discreet, primarily because some of the advice he handed out would have gone against the largely Puritan population in the area of Threadneedle Street, London. The fact that little documentation survives about his business venture is a testimony to his choosing to stay quiet about the operations.

In the 1600s, most marriages were arranged through the immediate family. If there was none, the parish priest might be asked to recommend a suitable mate. Mr. Robinson was adept at sniffing out information on existing relationships, young men and women coming of age, deaths, and new folks in the area. Being single past the age of twenty-one carried with it a deep stigma, which is why folks often turned to a matrimonial bureau.

Courtship began once the match was found. A man could send gloves to his intended, and if she wore them to church the following Sunday, that meant she was interested. He might also carve a love spoon, complete with artwork whittled in, to send a personal message to the woman. Meetings were conducted in the presence of a chaperone.

During this time, if the relationship lasted beyond a few successful meetings, he would be invited into the woman’s room, where they could talk. Later on, this would have been scandalous, but at this time, provisions were made to ensure that no physical contact happened before marriage. Bundling provided private time for them to share their feelings, their dreams, and discuss important topics such as the number of children they preferred or how many servants he would provide.

From "A Brief History of the Worlds Fist Dating Agency"

Bundling consisted of several options, depending on the practice of the area, and might be a bolster placed between the pair; a bundle board set down the middle of the bed; special garments that they were sewed into like a sack; or the man slept on top of the covers while the woman slept underneath. If they passed this test, they were permitted to marry. Otherwise, they were separated from each other and condemned by society.

By the 1700s and 1800s, the church had become more active in promoting marriage. In the late 18th century, clergymen established practice. Ads were placed in newspapers asking men and women who desired marriage to send money and their details, including age, how much money they made or had, and the dowry required or provided.

In 1825, an agency in London opened an office three days a week so prospective spouses could subscribe in person.

Historically, matrimonial bureaus worked as a commercial business or a service of the local church. Unfortunately, in both cases, fraud happened, with parties sending money but never getting the spouse.

This especially happened when a party in the US agreed to bring a bride from Europe, as the defrauded victim had little recourse to getting either their wife or their money.

Matrimonial bureau matches were often called Mail-Order Brides or Mail-Order Husbands. The proliferous use of catalogues to order goods easily translated in the general public’s mind to ordering up a spouse.

The modern dating agency came following World War II. With economic prosperity and folks looking for new kinds of leisure and amusements, Dating Clubs were set up. Folks joined, had their photograph taken, and gave information about themselves and the type of person they hoped to meet. Prior to the widespread use of photography, an artist’s rendering of prospective mates often took a long time to create, and often physical descriptions were misleading or outright lies.

While no matrimonial bureau was officially used in my book, Kaihtlyn’s Choice, her husband left a will stipulating that she must marry one of three men he’s personally selected for her. Within 30 days. A tinker, a tailor, and a candlestick maker. Which one will she choose?


About Kaihtlyn’s Choice:

A young woman heads west to meet her wandering husband in Nugget, Colorado. On her arrival, she learns he died. But he left a gold mine and a will. With a stipulation: She must marry within 30 days. To one of three men he pre-selected before he died. But which man will win her heart? The tinker, the tailor, or the candlestick maker?

Check out Kaihtlyn's Choice here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZWTPZY1 and the rest of the series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JVS5QBX



 

Giveaway: Leave a comment, along with your cleverly disguised email address, and I will draw randomly for one lucky reader to receive a free ebook copy of Kaihtlyn’s Choice. For example, donna AT livebytheword DOT com



About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She also coaches writers at any stage of their manuscript. Learn more at www.donnaschlachter.com/Tapestry


 

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Resources:

https://londnr.com/a-brief-history-of-the-worlds-first-dating-agency/

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/dating/advice/how-dating-evolved-through-the-years-2327549.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_agency

Christmas in Colonial America

While Christmas celebrations are quite common in this century, it was not always so in America. In fact, our first settlers—both the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in 1620, and the Puritans who established Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630—were adamantly opposed to the tradition, which they viewed as un-Christian.

Both immigrant groups were part of the Protestant Reformation movement that opposed many things associated with the church in Rome. Catholics had adopted the holiday based on the ancient Roman celebration called Saturnalia, a feast of lights that involved drinking and feasting. Their reasoning was to fix a definite date of birth to prove the personhood of the Christ child, yet most Christians balked at the unknown (according to Scripture) date. Puritans and Pilgrims rejected the holiday and its connection with the pagan Roman tradition celebrated on December 25. 

The colonists were not the first to renounce Christmas as a religious holiday, since the Puritans in England in 1647 had already banned the celebration. The reformists in America followed suit in 1659 when the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony declared that “whoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other such way” was subject to a fine of five shillings. 

During the same time period, the Assembly of Connecticut prohibited the keeping of Christmas and any saint’s day. 

The Puritans believed that Christmas was just a pagan custom, adapted as a Christian one, without any Biblical basis. The way revelers celebrated Christmas did not endear the Pilgrims or Puritans to the holiday. “Men dishonor Christ more in the 12 days of Christmas then in all the twelve months besides,” wrote 16^thcentury clergyman, Hugh Latimer. 

The Christmas was neither “silent” nor “holy,” involving gambling, excess drinking, and rowdy, licentious behavior. 

Businesses and schools in Massachusetts remained open on December 25, until it was declared a public holiday in 1856.

But Christmas customs varied in the colonies, depending on religious affiliations. Most Virginians were devout Anglicans and the weeks leading up to December 25 were a time of penance and reflection on one’s spiritual condition. 

Quakers in Philadelphia, as well as Presbyterians, did not partake in Christmas festivities.

But Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Moravians did observe Christmas day and all its celebrations in the Middle Atlantic colonies as well as in the South. 

Peter Kalm, a Swedish visitor to Philadelphia in 1749, made note of the Christmas decorations—green boughs, garlands made of holly, ivy, and mountain laurel hanging from the church roof, walls, and pillars. 

Although historic areas now use fruits to decorate for Christmas, it is likely that these were far too precious a commodity as food in Colonial America—except perhaps by the wealthy. 

Music was a huge part of celebrations. Philip Fithian of Virginia wrote in his diary on Christmas Eve in 1775 about singing hymns written by Isaac Watts, which seems ironic since Watts was an English Congregationalist minister and theologian. Congregationalists in Massachusetts abhorred the idea of Christmas. Watts actually wrote “Joy to the World,” a favorite Christmas carol. 

Some churches offered Christmas worship services, but this religious observance seemed to play a minor role in comparison to feasting and revelry. The wealthy in the South provided lavish feasts and entertainments, including balls and fox hunts. The less well-off did not celebrate with such splendor but did participate with simpler food and festivities. 

While Southern colonists brought in the English customs of yule logs, kissing under the mistletoe, and decorating with greenery, German immigrants brought the German folk figure of Christkindel, who brings children their gifts at Christmas. 

Many cultures, traditions, and beliefs influenced the holiday of Christmas during colonial times. They were as diverse as the people who came here to settle in America.

May your Christmas be blessed. 

Elaine Marie Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her latest release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She penned the three-book Deer Run Saga and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. She freely admits to being a history geek. Look for her upcoming series, entitled Dawn of America, set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. The first two books are entitled War's Respiteand Love's Kindling. You can visit her site at www.elainemariecooper.com  

Pilgrims and Puritans--What's the Difference?

by Dr. Rebecca Price Janney

My history students often want to know the difference between the Pilgrims and Puritans, so I dedicate this story to both groups as we near Thanksgiving when they are much on our minds.









Let’s go back to the reign of Elizabeth I. After her Roman Catholic sister Mary’s rule, Elizabeth reinstated Anglicanism as England’s official religion. However, a small group of highly educated people struggled with the similarities they saw between the Church of England and the Roman church. Known as the Puritans because they desired to purify Anglicanism, they objected to the clergy’s elaborate liturgical robes, as well as the use of candles, incense, and music in services, all which they believed were distractions from true worship. Instead, the Puritans stressed the importance of Bible study and desired to make God’s Word accessible and understandable to ordinary people.  They also believed deeply in the doctrine that faith alone, as opposed to good works, could get a person to heaven. 

At that time, many Puritans believed the Anglican Church could be reformed from within, but another group of them wanted to separate from it because it was too corrupt. These “Separatists” or “Pilgrims” left England in 1606 for Leyden in Holland in order to practice their beliefs unencumbered by the state church. 


They enjoyed a dozen years of relative peace, but they had struggled with finding more than menial employment because of their immigrant status.  The Pilgrims decided to seek a place where they might have full religious liberty and live above a subsistence level.  In 1620 the Pilgrims made the decision to come to America, sailing from England in the fall after several unfortunate delays. It was the worst time of the year for The Mayflower’s voyage, but it couldn’t be helped.



After a tumultuous 64-day journey across the Atlantic, they arrived at Cape Cod on November 9, committing themselves to a compact, or written agreement, that would lead away from the rule of kings and queens toward democratic self-government. The Pilgrims settled at Plymouth where they constructed primitive huts in which to weather the cruel Massachusetts winter, and many fell sick, leading to the deaths of over half the 102 immigrants. 

Their leader, Governor William Bradford, vividly described their grim, desperate situation:

"If they looked behind them, there was the mighty ocean which they had passed and was now as a main bar and gulf to separate them from all the civil parts of the world. . . . What could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and His grace? May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say, 'Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity. . . .'”


Considering that the group of mostly peasants, town laborers and shopkeepers were ill-suited to life in the wilderness, they came through their ordeal remarkably well. As Bradford put it, “they knew they were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country.” Another Pilgrim said, “It is not with us as with other men, whom small things can discourage, or small discontentments cause to wish themselves at home again.”

In the meantime, conditions in England became progressively worse in general, and for the Puritans in particular.  Nor was the church they loved about to be reformed. People’s behavior had deteriorated, the streets were polluted with human waste, and life was cheap. According to Peter Marshall and David Manuel, “England had become a nation without a soul. A beggar could die of exposure in a merchant’s doorway, and the merchant, arriving to open up in the morning would be irate at having to step over the body. . . .” 

Under James I’s successor, Charles I, the Puritans suffered persecution, and many went to prison. (Think John Bunyan and Pilgrim’s Progress.) In 1628 the Council for New England issued a grant to a group of Puritans to establish a settlement between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers in Massachusetts, and 66 men ventured there, later to be joined by 200 more men who would begin to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A lawyer named John Winthrop was elected Governor and followed with his own set of colonists.




The Puritans viewed New England as a New Canaan, a promised land that God would use as an experiment in Christian living, “a city upon a hill” for all the world to see. Halfway between England and the New World, Winthrop preached a sermon, “A Modelle of Christian Charity,” on the deck of the Arbella. With an ocean breeze stirring his dark hair, he proclaimed:


"We must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are upon us; soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our God in the worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall open the mouthes of enemies to speake evill of the ways of God and all professours for Gods sake."

When the Puritans reached the shores, they found the settlement in a dilapidated state, with only 85 of the nearly 300 men who’d gone before them remaining--the others had died or turned back. Under Winthrop’s leadership, however, the Puritans established a firm foundation for themselves and all who would follow them. The Puritans quickly outnumbered the Pilgrims in the new land, and by the late 17th century, had absorbed their numbers.



Tell me, are you related to any of these early English settlers to America? If my research is accurate, then some of my family members were Puritans who came here in the early 1630s. One of my DAR friends can trace her lineage back to Captain Myles Standish, who came over on the Mayflower! I would love to hear your story.


 




Rebecca Price Janney is a theologically trained historian whose 18 published books deal mainly with people and themes in America history, including Great Stories in American History, and Then Comes Marriage? A Cultural History of the American Family. She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband and son. www.rebeccapricejanney.com

Plymouth Colony: A Love Story

John Alden and Priscilla Mullins were most likely the third couple to be married in the Plymouth Colony. The story goes that Miles Standish asked John to court Priscilla on his behalf and that Priscilla smiled demurely and asked John if he wanted to speak for himself.
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And he did.
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And he got the girl.
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Aw.
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The stuff of romance.
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Then there's the story of Humility Cooper. Humility came on the Mayflower in 1620, in the custody of her aunt and uncle Edward and Ann (Cooper) Tilley. She was little more than a year old at the time. When Edward and Ann died the first winter, Humility was sent back to England. There is no record that she ever married or had children.
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This intriques me. What if things had turned out differently for Humility Cooper? What if she had not gone back to England? What if she fell in love and married?
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Ah, the tales we could weave....
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And then there's Mary Chilton. In 1620, at the age of 13, Mary came with her parents on the Mayflower. Her father was one of the first who died after the ship had anchored off Provincetown Harbor. Edward Winslow's brother John had come to Plymouth on the ship Fortune in 1621. Sometime between 1623 and 1627, John Winslow married Mary Chilton.
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I can just picture Mary and her girlfriends rushing to the shore at the news that a ship had been spotted on the horizon! Mary would have watched the passengers disembark, her gaze landing on the handsome (of course he's handsome. It's my story!) fellow seated third from the back of the rowboat.
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I imagine she and her friend Priscilla (Priscilla and John A. were not yet married) giggled and batted their lashes at the newcomers...discreetly, of course. Maybe John A. was already in love with Priscilla by this time. What if John A. saw Priscilla giggling with Mary and his heart grew heavy?
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What if became worried that Priscilla might throw him over for one of the men who had just arrived? Oh, the torture! John Alden had hired on as a cooper on the Mayflower, never intending to stay in Plymouth. But given the choice, he decided to stay.

I submit that he fell in love.

Who knows the romantic intrigue that might have transpired in the months between these two couples, and the other unmarried men and women in the Plymouth Colony?

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Could it be possible that Constance Hopkins was a contender for John Alden’s affections? Constance came with her father Stephen, step-mother Elizabeth, brother Giles, and step-sister Damaris on the Mayflower in 1620, at the age of 14. Constance's future husband, Nicholas Snow, arrived on the ship Anne in 1623.

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Constance was probably one of the young ladies who stood with Mary and Priscilla when that first ship arrived. But she had to wait until Nicholas arrived in 1623. What if she thought she'd never have a chance at the happiness her friends were experiencing? It wasn't like there was a plethora of eligible bachelors (or bachelorettes) in Plymouth Colony.

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What fun to look at our forefathers (and mothers) as something other than the staid Pilgrims who gave us Thanksgiving turkey and dressing, and squash dressing, and pumpkin pie!

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Some of them were young, and optimistic, and longing for a wonderful life in a new land.

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A new life with the right man or woman by their side.

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If you'd like to look at the list of passengers on the Mayflower and weave a tale or two of your own, click here.

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Don’t forget to leave a comment to be in our daily giveaways!

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For each day you comment on CFHS, you’ll receive one entry in the Kindle and one in the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway. Comment on every post in the month of March and earn 31 entries!

***Also if you comment on this post, I am giving away an eCopy of Claiming Mariah. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day.

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BIO

Pam Hillman was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove the Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of! Claiming Mariah is her second novel. www.pamhillman.com