KEEPING CHRISTMAS.
FEAST ABOLISHED BY PURITANS. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The religious event is observed by the Protestant, Catholic, and Greek Churches on diversified dates in different parts of the world. The festivities of the day may be traced to the ancient rites celebrated in Scandinavia, Rome, Greece, anl Egypt, where the pagan people feared, as the days shortened in the darkest month of the year, that the sun was dying, and observed a time of rejoicing when the sun began to stay with them a little longer each day. The leaders of the early Christian Church endeavoured to adopt the harmless features of the heathen sun festivals as a conciliation to those who had broken with their old beliefs and vowed their allegiance to the new faith. But, despite their effort at control, Christmas resulted in orgies not to be countenanced by the Christian Church. 'Revelry continued in England until some years after the going of the Puritans to America. The Roundhead Parliament abolished Christmas for twelve years, and in America the Court of Massachusetts followed suit. Bui; Christmas must be kept, and it was later re-estab-lished in more sane fashion by law in both countries, because the people were unwilling not to keep the festival.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19221215.2.50.21
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Taranaki Daily News, 15 December 1922, Page 4 (Supplement)
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210KEEPING CHRISTMAS. Taranaki Daily News, 15 December 1922, Page 4 (Supplement)
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