Puritans and Christmas

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Rachel N Schnepper, Yuletide’s Outlaws; America's 17th-century war on Christmas. Nwe York Times, Dec 15, 2012 (op-ed).
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/1 ... r-on-christmas.html

My comment:
(a) Skip the first 3 paragraphs.
(b) The article says, "Mummers would blacken their faces and dress up in costumes, often in the clothes of the opposite sex, to perform plays in the streets or in homes."
(i) mummer (n): "one who goes merrymaking in disguise during festivals"
www.m-w.com
(ii) mummer. Online Etymology Dictionary, undated.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=mummer
(iii) Mummers Play
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummers_Play
(seasonal folk plays; originally from the British Isles; The earliest evidence of mummers' plays as they are known today (usually involving a magical cure by a quack doctor) is from the mid to late 18th century)

(c) The article comments, "When the Puritans rebelled against King Charles I, inciting the English Revolution, the popular celebration of Christmas was on their hit list."
(i) Puritan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan
(As a result of the First English Civil War (1642 – 46), the Puritans became the major political force in England)

There is no need to read the rest of the Wiki page, for this is the only mention of Puritans in the page.
(ii) English Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Revolution

(d) Increase Mather
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Increase_Mather
(1639-1723)
(e) For Heathens Saturnalia (sometimes written as Heathens' Saturnalia, see Saturnalia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia
(an ancient Roman festival in honour of the deity Saturn originally held on December 17 and later expanded with festivities through December 23; In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity)

(f) The article states Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony found them “in the streete at play, openly; some pitching the barr, and some at stoole-ball, and shuch like sports.”
(i) The English surname Bradford is made up of "Old English brad ‘broad’ + ford ‘ford.’"
(ii) William Bradford (Plymouth governor)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bradford_(Plymouth_governor)
(1590-1657; Plymouth governor in various times, see table)
(iii) Plymouth Colony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony
(1620–1691; Oilgrims; the colony was merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay; map)
(iv) What Mr Bradford actually wrote is not "the" but "ye." The "barr" is now "ball."  The "shuch" is "such." See next.
(iv) Paul Dickson, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary; The revised, expanded, and now-definitive work on the language of baseball. 3rd ed. Norton, 2009 at page 830
http://books.google.com/books?id ... the+streete+at+play,+openly;+some+pitching+the+barr,+and+some+at+stoole-ball,+and+shuch+like+sports&source=bl&ots=7SNnEESpJ-&sig=k-Uvg-4ZLEJaIehZVUBlZVhAA38&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N_LMUOaaMLSB0QH-iYD4Cg&ved=0CFcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=stool-ball&f=false
(stool-ball)
(v) ancient pictorials of stoolball
* Wenyeva atte grene, Stool Ball: A medieval baseball game. 2005/2006.
http://slumberland.org/sca/articles/stoolball.html
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoolball

(g) The article avers, "The Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony went one step further and actually outlawed the celebration of Christmas. From 1659 to 1681, anyone caught celebrating Christmas in the colony would be fined five shillings."
(i) Massachusetts Bay Colony
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay_Colony
(founded by the owners [investors] of the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1628 at the present-day Salem, Massachusetts; Puritans)
(ii) Shilling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilling
(circulated in England, and later Britain, from ca 1550 to 1971)
(iii) Requiem for the Shilling. The Royal Mint Museum, undated.
http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.u ... hilling/index2.html
(section heeading: The first shillings)

(h) The article observes "the Puritan War on Christmas lasted up to 1870, when Christmas became a legally recognized federal holiday."

Christmas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
("By 1860, fourteen states including several from New England had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday. In 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States Federal holiday, signed into law by President Ulysses S Grant")

There is no need to read the rest of the Wiki page.