Is celebrating Christmas still ilegal?

[pandoradeus]

I know Oliver Cromwell 'banned' Christmas, but was that law ever repealed?

[sft42]

Is this true?? Why wasn't I informed?....anyways after a quick trawl it turns out your right....

In 1649.....Cromwell took over the governing of England. A devout believer, Oliver Cromwell was a Puritan in all senses of the word. He wanted to purify the services and government of the Church, by making them much simpler.

As part of his attempt to purify the State of England, he introduced a law banning excesses at Christmas, including decorations, celebrations and extravagances. Christmas, said Cromwell was a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and nothing more.

The remarkable thing is that Cromwell's law has never been repealed.

I'm off down my cop shop to start getting anyone with decorations or playing carols banged up!

Source for text in italics http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/lawrpt/lstorie
s/lr261206.htm

[pandoradeus]

Fantastic! Now I can save a small fortune!

[FredPuli]

This story is given every Christmas. Nobody ever gives the title of this Act of Parliament which makes it hard to identify its repeal, if it ever existed in such precise terms as to outlaw any celebration. It is more likely that such an interpretation was put on some laws concerning enforced attendance at church on Sunday and Christmas and from administrative decisions to close theatres and suppress some entertainments on grounds that they were ungodly or immoral. (Cromwell actually relaxed the law about Sunday so Catholics were not obliged to attend protestant services) On the Restoration Charles II 'The Merry Monarch" wasted no time in having theatres re-opened ( anyhow, his favourite mistress ,Nell Gwynn, had ambitions as an actress). It is highly unlikely that he would not at this time have had repealed any laws and orders concerning unpopular or killjoy puritan practices ( he rather embraced Catholicism himself). Even if he did not there has long been a body, The Law Reform Commission which periodically, inter alia, does a sweep of all the old statutes and creates Law Reform Bills which become Acts to repeal the obsolete ones, en masse. If it existed it would have gone, repealed under one of these , quite likely listed as one of many such in some schedule to the Act. It would not merit its very own named act of repeal e.g. 'The.[title]...(Repeal) Act' so its disappearance might have gone unnoticed even by those who knew of its title.

[sft42]

You're a killjoy Fred....I still think anyone with decorations should be strung up though.

[bernardo]

I am 98% sure that there was a specific law which explicitly banned Christmas, and I'm 80% sure that it was repealed fairly quickly after the restoration of the monarchy.

[sft42]

I am 100% sure they should bring the thing back then!

[firefly]

He also banned other things, such as drink and theatrical entertainment, which as far as I know are now counted as legal.

[sylvia]

It would be great if it was just a ban on shopping.