It’s December 25, 1647—Christmas Day. A crowd of apprentices gather in Cornhill, London. In honor of the festive occasion, they have boughs of holly and strands of ivy ready to hang in honor of Christmas. Together, they hang the greenery in a public place for all to see. It seems like a heartwarming and harmless act, but not everyone sees it that way.
News of the festive decorations reaches the mayor of London. He quickly sends officers to tear down the decor, but the men who hung the holly and ivy are there to meet them. They resist the officers and send them back to the mayor empty-handed.
But the mayor is determined. The holly and ivy must come down! He sends a group of soldiers to see that the job is done. The soldiers break through the crowd of apprentices and tear down the offensive holiday decor.
The mayor smiles.
MAYOR OF LONDON: 1
CHRISTMAS: 0
But why all the hubbub about some harmless Christmas decorations?
It’s because Christmas is illegal. By order of the English Parliament, all observance of the Christmas holiday is strictly forbidden.
But why?
The celebration of Christmas has been an important part of the English calendar for centuries. By the mid-1600s, Christmas has become a time of celebration, feasting, and joy. Shops are closed, special church services are held, homes are decorated, gifts are given, and people eat… a lot. Specific foods, like mince pie and plum pudding have become associated with the holiday, which is often celebrated for a full twelve days. Celebrations involve heart-warming elements, but they also lend themselves to drunkenness, excess, and vice.
Like many Christians in our day, the English Puritans of the time bemoan the fact that the attention at Christmas seems to be on earthly things, like partying and eating, instead of on the Christ whose name the day bears. They also think that observing Christmas seems too Catholic and they are eager to distance themselves from the Catholic Church. In fact, many Puritans express open contempt, even hatred, for the holiday itself, calling it “idolatrous and profane”. But despite the fact that many Puritans have abandoned the celebration of Christmas, the holiday festivities continue on, unabated.
Even with the beginning of the English Civil War in 1642, many do their best to celebrate Christmas. As the war rages on, the Parliamentarians begin to gain the upper hand, as King Charles and his Royalists lose key battles.
The rise of the Parliamentarians also means a rise of the Puritans. Many in the English parliament are very devout.
The Puritans, famously, are very concerned about the strict observance of religious activities. Many Puritans in history were great men and wonderful examples, but many practicing Puritans in the 17th century seem much more concerned with the outward observance of piety than with matters of the heart. In 1642, Parliament declares the last Wednesday of every month to be a day of fasting and prayer. No one will eat. Instead, they will spend the day contemplating their sins and praying for God’s mercy on their land.
In 1644, December 25th happens to fall on the fourth Wednesday of the month and Parliament makes a highly controversial proclamation. The day of fasting and repentance will be strictly observed, which means no food on Christmas.
Most people, it seems, ignore the decree and celebrate Christmas as they see fit.
The war ends in 1646, allowing Parliament to turn more of their attention to the troublesome matter of Christmas. In June of 1647, they declare that Christmas, along with all other “Festival dayes, commonly called Holy-dayes” must “be no longer observed”.
Christmas has been outlawed.
But the English people aren’t having it. There are peaceful acts of resistance like the hanging of the holly and ivy in London, but there are also violent protests on Christmas Day. There are riots in Norwich and Ipswich and an especially famous uprising in Canterbury.
The Mayor of Canterbury tries to champion the Parliamentary law. He patrols the streets, encouraging shopkeepers to stay open on Christmas. A mob gathers to resist him. They throw him to the ground, besmearing him with mud. Then, they proceed to vandalize the shops that are open on Christmas.
They begin a wild game of British football in the streets that effectively shuts down the town for the rest of the day. The mayor can do nothing to quell the chaos and when he attempts to have the rioters tried for their act of rebellion, the grand jury declines to indict them.
It’s doubtful that specific Christmas foods, like plum pudding, were banned, but the riots come to be known as the Plum Pudding Riots. The English people will have their Christmas pudding and all the other trappings of the holiday, and Parliament can do nothing to stop them.
The ban on Christmas technically stayed in place until 1660, but it seemed to do little to lastingly dim the Christmas spirit in England.
Today, the gatherings, the decorations, the gifts, and the feasting associated with Christmas are still alive and well in England and many other nations around the world. And in many British homes, plum pudding is still on the menu.
In Luke 9, the apostle John comes to Jesus with a ministry update. He tells Jesus that he and some of the other disciples came across a man who was not part of their group. But this man was casting out devils in Jesus’s name.
John tells Jesus (perhaps with a touch of pride in his voice): “we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.” (Luke 9:49)
But Jesus makes it clear that He is not entirely pleased with John and the other disciples. “Forbid him not:” Jesus says, “for he that is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9:50)
It’s easier to make enemies than friends. It’s easier to notice what is wrong with others than what is right about them. Because of our human tendency to focus on the negative, we can sometimes make the wrong person into the enemy.
We can point at others who are serving God and call them enemies of the gospel because they are not serving Him the way we do. We can see what is wrong in a denomination or movement and begin to see anyone connected with that group as an opponent of the work of God.
We certainly need discernment because there are many people who do damage to God’s work by doing things in His name that are contrary to His Word and His Spirit. We all need grace to “try the spirits” as John calls us to do in 1 John 4.
When we jump to judgment and draw up the battle lines every time we see something that we don’t like, we need to ask ourselves some questions.
Is that person upholding the biblical truth about Christ or undermining it?
Are they furthering the work of God or hindering it?
Is my energy best served in pointing out what they are doing wrong or encouraging what they are doing right?
Those questions are often difficult to answer. We need God’s help.
I applaud the Parliament of the 1640s for their desire to encourage godliness in England. But I think they went about it in the wrong way. They tried to legislate piety. When they outlawed Christmas, it seems to me a classic example of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”.
Were false doctrine, drunkenness, and immorality enemies of the people of 17th century England? Yes. Could Parliament play a part in combatting those vices? Yes, I think they could. Was a ban on Christmas and all other Holy Days the right way to fight those enemies? I think not.
Especially for those of us in positions of authority, we need to be careful. As we try to fight for the good of those under our authority, we need to beware lest we misdiagnose the problem. Whether you are involved in leading a family, a corporation, a church, or a nation, you need God’s wisdom to find and fight the real enemy.
For the good of those you lead and the glory of God, we need His help to get it right. We can only fight so many battles. Let’s make sure we’re fighting the right enemy. By all means, fight the sin, but leave the plum pudding alone.
Learn More
About the ban on Christmas: historyextra.com, cromwellmuseum.org, olivercromwell.org
Read the decree: british-history.ac.uk
About the “Plum Pudding Riots”: kent-maps.online
About the history of plum pudding: history.com
Exempla 