Did you know that celebrating Christmas was once banned in Massachusetts? Once upon a time in the Bay State, you could be fined and possibily imprisoned for caroling, hosting a Christmas dinner or exchanging gifts in honor of the holiday. And no, the ban wasn’t the work of a secular group – it was actually the most ardent Christians in the state who turned out to be the biggest grinches in history.

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When the Puritans pilgrims sailed from England in 1630, they were looking for a place to practice their ultra-strict brand of Christianity without interference from what they saw as the lax and sinful ways of the English church. Part of their religious revamp included a huge dictate for the corrupt holiday they sometimes called "Foolstide."

For the Puritans, Christmas was overly indulgent and led otherwise devout individuals astray. They thought it encouraged rowdy behavior and vice.

This may be due to the way Christmas was celebrated in the 17th-century – rather than a quiet night at home with family, bands of young people would roam door to door and demand food and drink from wealthy households. There would be feasting, dice and card gambling, drinking and occasional naughtiness between gentlemen and ladies.

"Men dishonor Christ more in the 12 days of Christmas than in all the 12 months besides," remarked 16th-century clergyman Hugh Latimer.

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The Puritans were also all about following the Bible as closely as possible, and there’s nothing in the holy book that suggests that Jesus was even born in the winter season, let along on December 25. The Puritans disparaged Christmas as a re-branded form of the pagan and Roman holiday of Saturnalia.

So what did they do when they stepped off the boat in New England? They made Christmas illegal. Anyone caught celebrating the birth of Christ through Yuletide gaiety on December 25 was subjected to a heavy fine and possible imprisonment depending on the mode of celebration. Baking Christmas cookies would probably get you into less trouble than a drunken Yuletide revel.

Instead, the Puritans took the day to pray and reflect on their own sins. They also "celebrated " by working all day rather than resting with family. Churches were closed and schools and businesses remained open. All public celebrations of Christmas were banned, though there is evidence that some families continued to honor the holiday discreetly in their homes.

Are you thinking that this kind of thinking might have been common in that time? Nope. The Christmas ban was a strictly Massachusetts thing.
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So when was the official ban against Christmas finally lifted? Not until 1681, a full generation later. That doesn’t mean that Christmas was suddenly all the rage, however – anti-Christmas sentiment persisted into the 1700s, and it wasn’t until 1856 that Christmas was made a public holiday.

The next time you’re decking the halls in Massachusetts, just remember that you’re probably making some of the state’s founding residents roll in their graves. For more wacky Massachusetts history, check out these 11 weird events you won’t find in history books.

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