12/16/2014
- Trial Court Law Libraries
In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony enacted a law called Penalty for Keeping Christmas. The notion was that such “festivals as were superstitiously kept in other countries” were a “great dishonor of God and offence of others.” Anyone found celebrating Christmas by failing to work, “feasting, or any other way… shall pay for every such offence five shillings.” [This would be about $48 today].
You can find an interesting discussion of the evolution of opinion on Christmas in the region at Wikipedia’s Christmas in Puritan New England.