Christmas is Cancelled | Parliamentarian Vs. Royalist

Some of us grumble every year about the increasing commercialisation of Christmas, but would you seriously suggest closing the shops altogether? In 1647, years ago, in the middle of the British Civil Wars, The Puritans lobbied for a curb to what they saw as the excesses of Christmas. The festival, they said, appeared nowhere in scripture. It was idolatrous, positively pagan, and encouraged sin. So in the summer of that year, Parliament banned midwinter, the ban met opposition. In East Anglia, London and Kent, apprentices gathered to decorate the streets, sing and dance. They played football and forced shops to shut out of respect for the holiness of the season. They were put down by government troops. The riots escalated and in the spring civil war broke out again. The Puritans won in the short term. King Charles was executed and his royalist supporters were defeated. Christmas was officially suppressed. But when the monarchy was restored in 1660 ‘old Christmas Day’ was reinstated