Have a Merry Winthrop Christmas!

Hi!

When I was five, I first realized that not everyone celebrates Christmas.  The day started innocently enough, while we were visiting my grandparents for Christmas.  Since I was so excited for Christmas, my parents suggested I run some errands with my grandparents.  Thinking it would make time go faster, I eagerly accepted.  We bought some delicious cookies at the grocery store, filled up the gas tank and stopped at the local Jewish Community Center (JCC) to pay for next year's water aerobics classes.  The JCC is the Jewish equivalent to the Christian YMCA and provides fitness classes to the general public.

While we were leaving, I noticed the absence of a Christmas tree.  Confused, I asked my grandmother why the JCC didn't have a Christmas tree?  My grandmother, a blunt Irish woman in a hurry said, "Haven't your parents taught you anything?  Jews don't celebrate Christmas."  This was shocking for a five year old, who was growing up in the heavily Protestant Midwest.  It was like someone told me Santa Claus didn't exist.  "Those poor Jewish children," I cried as I got into the car, "Santa doesn't bring them presents."  My grandmother, who was never the sympathetic type, told me to "buck up."

When I got back to my grandparent's house, my grandmother calmly explained to my parents why I was crying.  I told them I was sad for all the Jewish children that didn't get presents on Christmas and wanted to start a toy drive like I saw on television.  My mother is a gentler soul and told me that the Jews didn't believe in Jesus, so that's why they don't celebrate Christmas.  "Don't worry," she said gently, "Jewish children get presents on Hanukkah."  Looking back, I'm applaud by my materialistic views of Christmas, but knowing that Jewish children also got presents in December made me feel better.  After all, I felt it was only fair that all children should get presents. 

"No Christmas for you!"~pretend quote from Oliver Cromwell

Later in life when I began studying history in earnest, I realized there were Christians that didn't celebrate Christmas.  Besides..."What the Heck" (never scream this in a library), I was appalled by the prudish Puritans, who in the 16th and 17th centuries didn't celebrate Christmas.  As a matter of fact, Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan and the English Parliament, outlawed the celebration of Christmas after the English Civil War. Cooking goose was banned, caroling and decorations such as holly were also outlawed. Christmas under Cromwell was a dismal affair.  (For those of you who are not familiar with beliefs of the Puritans, please read my previous post; These Ain't Your Mama's Puritans. 

So what possible reason could Oliver Cromwell and his cronies have for banning Christmas? According to the book America's Forgotten Founding Father by Francis Bremer, the Puritans loathed Christmas because it had become to commercialized.  While Santa wasn't appearing at malls and department stores weren't pressuring parents to purchase the latest toys, the Christmas celebrations of 16th and 17th century were full of drunkenness, gluttony and sexual misconduct.  Not only did Oliver Cromwell and his followers want to stop this behavior, but they felt that Christmas didn't even have no scriptural bases.  Yes, Jesus' birth is in the Bible, but the Christmas was started in the fourth century to Christianize the winter solstice.  Therefore, some Puritans felt that Christians shouldn't be celebrating this drunken, pagan holiday.

Have a Merry Winthrop Christmas.

Not all Puritans, however, wanted to ban the celebration outright.  John Winthrop, the leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, hated the licentious behavior he witnessed during Christmas.  Instead of banning Christmas in the new Massachusetts Bay Colony, however, he encouraged a day of fasting and prayer.  Through prayer and fasting, Winthrop reminded his fellow Puritans the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.

Does any of this sound familiar?  During the Christmas season, we are constantly bombarded by the conflicting meanings of Christmas.  Retailers want us to buy more, while religious leaders want us to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.  The over commercialization of Christmas makes many people sick, so it's no wonder that the Puritans felt they had to take drastic measures.  While I don't believe we should ban Christmas, John Winthrop's Christmas filled with prayer and fasting has some attraction:  Less stress and more focus on the birth of our savior.  So if you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a Merry Winthrop Christmas.