The Forbidden Holiday

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The English Civil War of the mid-17th century ended in the beheading of King Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth under of Oliver Cromwell.  It also marked a turning point in the celebration of Christmas in Britain and its American colonies.  In this episode, we will examine the rise of Puritan groups to power in the English Parliament, their attitudes toward the moral and ritual reform of the English Church, and how these groups in Britain and the colonies sought to purge Catholic and "pagan" influences in their society by banning the celebration of Christmas.

​Podcaster: Nathan

Further Reading
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John Coffey and Paul Lim, The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism, Cambridge University Press, (2008).

Bruce Daniels, Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England, Macmillan, (1995). 

James P.  Walsh, "Holy Time and Sacred Space in Puritan New England." American Quarterly 32, no. 1 (1980): 79-95.

Michael P. Winship, Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America, Yale University Press, (2019).

​Music: "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin Macleod (www.incompetech.com)