Introduction

During the 17th century, Christmas was observed by having everyone take a day off, close up their shops, and head down to church. In 1643, some Puritan shopkeepers in London tried to stay open on Christmas Day, but they were met by a mob of angry apprentices who tried to rabble-rabble them back into closing. The next year, Christmas coincidentally fell on the same day as a regular monthly fast, and Parliament announced that people ought to observe the latter rather than the former. Shortly thereafter, a new directory of worship was published that struck Christmas from the calendar - not that anyone actually read it.