Christmas, Banned In Boston?

Christmas? Banned? Say it isn't so.

Well, it isn't so today but it once was. The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts in the Boston area didn't consider Christmas a true religious day. To begin with, December 25 had been chosen as the date of Christ's birth several centuries after his death and resurrection. The celebration had traditionally included drinking, feasting, and playing games. All of that, of course, was frowned upon by the Puritans.

One of the traditions of Christmas back in the 1600s also included wassailing which on occasion turned violent. The custom often involved those of poorer neighborhoods going into wealthier areas and demanding food and drink in return for the group drinking to the host's health and good luck. If the host refused, it could get ugly, especially if the group had filled their cups often at previous homes. Wassail was a hot ale based drink with spices, roasted crab apples, sugar and cream.

As more and more British who were not Puritans settled in Boston, the problem of Christmas celebration led to the governing Puritan leaders establishing a law against celebrating Christmas. In 1659, the ban became law and a celebrant could be fined five shillings if caught. The ban only lasted 22 years until a British appointed governor repealed it.

Still many did not celebrate the holiday. As Reverend Increase Mather said in 1687 "The generality of Christmas-keepers observe that festival after such a manner as is highly dishonourable to the name of Christ. How few are there comparatively that spend those holidays (as they are called) after an holy manner. But they are consumed in Compotations, in Interludes, in playing at Cards, in Revellings, in excess of Wine, in mad Mirth ..."

Today Boston celebrates much the same way the rest of the nation does with a tree lighting, concerts, shows, shopping, decorations and church services.

The Autumn Leaves - On Tour

It has been several years since we did a tour of the New England states during autumn to see the changing colors in the beautiful trees of Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Without a doubt, Vermont and New Hampshire were the most spectacular even though our time in New Hampshire was spent driving in the rain.

This part of the country seems to be a little earlier than the Midwest in the fall coloring. We visited around the last week of September to try to hit the peak time which can be anywhere from the last week of September to the second week of October. The further north you are, the earlier the peak of color.

For our trip, we flew into Massachusetts and rented a car, drove up the coast to Maine and then over through New Hampshire and Vermont. It was the first trip where we had booked everything online. I don't even think TripAdvisor was around yet to help us out. Fortunately, everywhere we stayed was satisfactory and we had no problems.

I wish at the time we would have had a good digital camera. I would post here some gorgeous shots of oranges, reds, yellows, and muted shades of green that were brilliantly displayed throughout our drive. Now that we are more travel-savvy, we need to plan another foray into New England. Ah, but that will have to wait for at least another year. Meanwhile, we'll enjoy what we can of the fall foliage in Ohio which can be just as spectacular.

If you do plan a fall foliage trip, be sure to start planning early. Hotels, B&Bs, etc., are booked up early. Or if you are lucky enough to live where the seasons change, fix yourself a cup of mulled cider, grab a glazed donut, and sit in your backyard and enjoy your own fall colors.

Port of Call - Boston, Mass.

Before me was a huge X etched into a piece of granite and under it a sign that read “Welcome to our safe house.” I had just entered the Greater Boston Food Bank facility. Not your usual cruise ship excursion. Six of us, including one of the ship’s photographers from the Crystal Serenity, had boarded a large van at the dock and been transported about twenty minutes away to the huge warehouse that is this organization’s central distribution center. The center serves more than 394,000 people of Eastern Massachusetts.

But why was it called a “safe house”? I read the explanation beneath the X. As a young child, Kip Tiernan, the founder of the food bank had watched her grandmother during the Great Depression feed many homeless, helpless, and hungry men who came to her back door in New Haven, Connecticut. When seven-year-old Kip asked her grandmother how the men knew to come to the door, she told her to watch them as they left. Kip noticed the next man leave and pause a moment out on the sidewalk. He picked up a piece of charcoal and marked a large X, the hobo symbol for a safe house. It was her first experience of community organizing.

“It is no secret if you are scarred by struggle you can be transformed by hope,” Tiernan said, “And my grandmother gave them that.”

So we entered the “safe house” and were introduced to the volunteer organizer who gave us a general introduction to all of the organizations that the food bank serves. A large group of young people from a local business joined us as well as regular volunteers and we walked past huge shelves filled with non-perishable foods and entered a room full of boxes of potato chips.

The group organizer for that project set us up to take empty boxes, put four bags of chips in each, replace the top and stack the boxes to be set on shelves for distribution later. In about an hour, we had repacked all the chips and sent them on their way.

Next, after proving ourselves with the chips project, our leader had volunteers bring in frozen meats and poultry for us to sort and redistribute in boxes for distribution. That job took about an hour as well.

A little tired but feeling satisfied that we had contributed some help to their wonderful organization we returned to the orientation room and received a report that our total group of about 30 people had successfully sorted and repacked over 4,000 pounds of food making meals possible for more than 107 people.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a cruise line organize the opportunity for its guests to contribute in this sort of way to a charitable organization. We are often asked to give money but never our time. It was quite enjoyable and satisfying and I hope to see more of those opportunities in the future.