A Day In The Life Of A Cat

Holiday Traditions: 4th and final

Today's Topic: The Real Story Of Christmas

In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of everything decadent (poor people!) and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II got the throne back and with him came the return of Christmas!

The pilgrims were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Mr. Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. However, in Jamestown, Captain John Smith had the Christmas festivities going in full force.

After the American Revolution, Christmas got lost in the shuffle. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to really embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas and it became a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia.

The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This bring about certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.

In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. Sketches in the book feature a wealthy man who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs". Irving's book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended ~ in fact, many historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season.

Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story's message ~ the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind ~ this struck a powerful chord in the US and England showing the benefits of celebrating the holiday.

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention and gifts on their children without appearing to "spoil" them.

And, of course, there was the big feast. Roast goose, Christmas pie, and sage laced gravy slathered on everything, was one of the high points of the holiday. To some it was what they looked forward to the most.

As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday, old customs were reconsidered. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving. Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

Enjoy some of these traditional Christmas recipes: