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Once Upon a Time the Religious Right Demonized Christmas, Even Banning Its Celebration

It’s ironic to hear Religious Right groups portray themselves as the great defenders of Christmas - their spiritual forebears hated the holiday and even banned its celebration.

The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay frowned on Christmas revelry, considering the holiday a Roman Catholic affectation. A law in the colony barred anyone from taking the day off work, feasting or engaging in other celebrations on Christmas, under penalty of a five-shilling fine.

The law was repealed in 1681, but Christmas celebrations remained unpopular in New England and other colonies for many years. That did not change after the Revolution, because many Americans viewed Christmas as a Tory custom, a reminder of the expelled British.

Although Christmas became popular in the South as early as the 1830s, other regions were apathetic. Writer Tom Flynn notes in his 1993 book The Trouble with Christmas that Congress did not begin adjourning on Christmas Day until 1856. Public schools in New England were often open on Dec. 25, as were many factories and offices. Many Protestant churches refused to hold services, considering the holiday “popish.”

Christmas wasn’t a federal holiday until 1870.

duck patrol wallpaper 

Stalin was obsessed with John Wayne and the Soviets invented their own wild west myths with Turks as the Indians, Wild, wild east 

While Pravda editorials attacked decadent Hollywood, Soviet leaders couldn’t resist a good western. Stalin was both fascinated and infuriated by John Wayne; the American actor’s anti-communism so disturbed Uncle Joe that, according to Orson Welles, he once sent the KGB to California to assassinate him. Leonid Brezhnev, meanwhile, had a crush on Chuck Connors, a B-movie actor who starred in a 1960s TV series, The Rifleman.