Christmas was banned in England
between about 1644 and 1660 by Oliver Cromwell, the Lord
Protector of England. Oliver Cromwell, along with Puritan
members of parliament, believed the merrymaking and festivities
observed during Christmastime were acts of sin and insults to
God. Celebrating Christmas became a punishable offense, and
consumption of Christmas foods was forbidden. The ban in England remained in place for
almost 20 years, during which people secretly celebrated
Christmas. When the British monarchy returned to power in
1660, it overruled all laws passed since 1642, and lifting the
ban on Christmas.
Christmas was, until recent times a purely religious festival
and New Year was and still is the main holiday for Scots.
Christmas was not traditionally celebrated in Scotland,
because it was banned for nearly 400 years until the 1950's.
Christmas was not even a public holiday until 1958. Hogmanay
was the real traditional celebration. LINK
Similar laws were passed in Puritan colonies in America.
Christmas was banned in Boston and Plymouth Colony from 1659 to
1681. In 1659 the Puritan General Court of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony made it a criminal offense to publicly celebrate
Christmas and declared that “whosoever shall be found observing
any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of
labor, feasting, or any other way” was subject to a 5-shilling
fine. In New England, Christmas did not become a legal holiday
until 1856.
Although outlawed in public, the celebration of Christmas
endured in private homes, particularly away from the Puritans in
Boston. December 25 was declared a US federal holiday in the
United States in 1870.