What Holidays Did the Puritans Celebrate?

The Puritans did not celebrate any scheduled holidays like Christmas or Easter. However, on any day when God favored them with good things, they were allowed to celebrate either of these special days:

• Day of Humiliation and Fasting
• Day of Thanksgiving and Praise

Let’s look at the beliefs of the Puritans and see why they did not celebrate holidays.

The Puritans were not against secular holidays, like Thanksgiving.  It was only the religious ones with the Pagan origins or influences which they objected to.  It is interesting to note that:

• Many people agreed with the Puritans. Easter was not widely celebrated in the United States until after the Civil War.
• From 1659 to 1681, there was a ban in Massachusetts on Christmas celebrations as well as gambling and other lawless behaviors.

Converting Pagans: Combining Rituals of Christmas and Easter

The reason the Puritans did not celebrate holidays like Easter and Christmas was because of the fact that they came from Pagan ideas.  As Christianity spread during the early years, church officials would make compromises to convert Pagans. One of these was combining the Pagan Saturnalia festival with the celebration of Christ’s birth. 

• Christmas - Since no one knew exactly when Christ was born, the date to celebrate his birth was set to correspond with the pagan ritual. The church leaders promised the Pagans they could continue their rituals as Christians.
• Easter - The word “Easter” comes from Eostre, the mother goddess of the Saxon people. Christians and Pagans had celebrated death and resurrection around the time of the Spring Equinox for centuries, so they combined them.

Holidays and Puritan Beliefs

For Puritans, their religion was their life. It was the foundation and played a big part of every facet of their society. Their religion had its roots in Calvinistic Protestantism and Puritans wanted to purify the church and themselves.  

• Puritan families had a very strong work ethic and the work included farming, fishing, and trading.
• The church leaders were also the political leaders, so any church law that was broken was also a civil one.  

• Puritans believed very strongly in educating their children and built schools soon after arriving in New England.
• They were equally serious about secular and religious education. They formed Harvard University, the first American college.

They were exclusive with their beliefs, meaning a non-Puritan could not live in their society. That way, in each town, everyone had the same goals and values. It also made for a town that was bonded together.  

Puritan Society

Puritan society was a theocracy, where God was the supreme ruler and government officials were divinely guided. Puritans were avid persecutors of Quakers, along with other colonies. They took religious intolerance to a whole new level in 1660. Mary Dyer, who was a Quaker, broke the law banning Quakers from the colony and was hanged along with three others. They were called the Boston Martyrs.

These actions set many things in motion starting with these three actions by King Charles II:

• He forbade any executions of Quakers in 1661
• He revoked the Massachusetts charter in 1684
• He sent a royal governor to enforce English laws in 1686

In 1689, the Toleration Act was passed.  This was the end of the Puritan theocracy.