For most of us in the United States, Christmas is a time for family gathering, lit trees, excited children, stories of long ago, caroling, and the birth of Jesus as told in the Bible. Christmas was not always that way though. Stephen Nissenbaum’s book, “The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America’s Most Cherished Holiday” (1997), a Pulitzer Prize finalist, tells us that the way we celebrate Christmas today is very much a creation of the early 1800s in the United States.
Until that time, Christmas was hardly a religious holiday. In many places in New England in the 1830s, Christmas Day was usually just another workday with children going to school, the law courts in session. For the people of New England, Christmas Day was rarely celebrated at all. In many parts of the United States, Christmas was more like New Year’s Eve and was commemorated with drinking alcohol and partying.
In fact, the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony banned Christmas in 1659. The Puritans banned Christmas due to its perceived pagan roots, and the drunkenness and rowdy behavior associated with it at the time. The law was repealed in 1681, but New Englanders remained wary about celebrating Christmas for a long time.
By the beginning of the 19th century, there was movement to create a holiday that would be more wholesome, reminding all of the birth of Jesus, and creating traditions centered around families. American writers began to pen verses about Christmas. A poem titled, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” later known as “Twas the Night before Christmas,” was published anonymously in 1823. Other authors wrote Christmas poems, later set to music, to express feelings that they had about the birth of Jesus. Sometimes those poems emphasized thoughts that reflected the concerns of their times such as world peace and freedom for all.
Some of the most vocal advocates for the new practices of celebrating Christmas were abolitionists who were ostracized socially for advocating for an end to slavery. It is difficult in our times to recognize the divisions in American society before the Civil War that prevented social interaction between defenders of the South and those who believed that all people should be free. These divisions were even present in places like New England where the abolition movement was strong.
Charles Follen, a Unitarian minister, abolitionist, and professor at Harvard University, is credited with introducing the Christmas tree and the idea of Christmas day as a family party to New England in 1835. He brought the idea of the tree from his native Saxon German tradition. The day was described as magical. The children awoke on Christmas morning and were led downstairs. The parlor doors were opened and they stared at a tree laden with decorations, lit candles and presents underneath. Harriet Martineau, an English writer, was staying with the Follen family and wrote about the Christmas festivity in her accounts of travels in the United States. Those accounts were widely read, and the Follen family’s Christmas was copied throughout the United States, contributing to the American Christmas tradition.
Today, Christmas is celebrated by many Americans in the way that began with German immigrants, blended with our own unique festivities. For many of us, Christmas is a time of gathering with friends or family. It is often a time when children look up with amazement at twinkling lights on decorated trees. It is a time when we remember the ancient story of a child born in Nazareth who would change the world.
Even though Christmas is a difficult time for many, let us be grateful for the light that breaks through the darkness and the presence of loving memories. Let us also be mindful that Christmas is also a time when we are called to charity to one another. Let us remember that the first Christmas happened to a poor couple in a stable, far away from their home. May our gratitude and joy in this season move us to help others.
This is a contributed opinion column. The Rev. Larry Smith is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley. He can be reached at: minister@uuclvpa.org.The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.
