The Full Story
England's Puritan Parliament turned against Christmas in stages. Restrictions built from 1644 under the Directory of Public Worship, and on 10 June 1647 an ordinance abolished the feast of Christmas outright.
To the godly, Christmas was a pagan festival dressed in Christian clothes. The feasting, drinking, and merrymaking were sinful. The holiday was abolished. December 25th was to be an ordinary working day.
The people didn't comply.
In Canterbury, protesters decorated with holly and forced shut shops back open. When the mayor tried to stop them, rioting erupted that gripped the city for weeks and fed into the Kent rising of 1648. In London, shops that tried to open on Christmas Day were forced to close by angry crowds. In Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, and Norwich, there were pro-Christmas riots.
The authorities tried enforcement. Soldiers were sent to prevent celebration. Ministers who preached Christmas sermons were arrested. But the people kept celebrating, privately if not publicly.
The ban lasted until the Restoration in 1660. When Charles II returned, Christmas returned with him.
The episode shows the limits of state power over popular culture. Parliament could pass whatever laws it wanted; it couldn't make people stop celebrating. The Puritans controlled the government; they couldn't control the popular will.
Christmas survived because ordinary people refused to let it die.
Why This Matters
The Christmas ban shows ordinary people resisting government overreach into their lives. Even absolute power has limits when it conflicts with deeply held traditions.
Key Facts
- ⚠Correction: the video presents a single ban of Christmas in 1647 and includes protesters playing football in the streets of Canterbury. Restrictions in fact built from 1644-45, with the abolishing ordinance passed on 10 June 1647; and the street-football detail appears in popular accounts but could not be independently verified, so it is not repeated here.