The “War on Christmas”
It is well-known that Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, so we automatically assume that this celebration is hands-down a joyous occasion. However, this holiday has been, on multiple occasions, a source of controversy in America, ever since the earliest Colonial days. As a matter of fact, back in 1659, the Puritan government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony decided to outlaw Christmas, meaning to discourage “disorderly” behavior that might be seen as “offensive to God”. Anyone who didn’t show up for work or even participated in feasting might have ended up with a fine of five shillings. The Christmas ban ended in 1681, but Massachusetts didn’t decide to make Christmas an official holiday until 1856.
The English once banned this holiday
Massachusetts wasn’t even the first place to ban Christmas, as back in 1643, England decided to pass a law that “encouraged” citizens to treat this holiday more as a solemn holiday, rather than something to celebrate. By the following year, the holiday was banned altogether. In fact, it remained illegal until 1660.
No paying off debtsÂ
On the opposite pole to the New England law which was against Christmas, Arkansas decided to pass a law in 1838 which made debt that was initially due on December 25th, payable one day earlier, on the 24th. If you owed a debt that was due during Christmas, you would have one less day to pay it. Also, if a debt was owed to you on those days, your debtor would have to pay it one day earlier, which would deprive you of one day of interest. The official score in Arkansas was calculated this way: debtor=0, creditor=0. But do you think it was fair?
A grace period is offered for paying a debt
Unlike Arkansas, Louisiana decided to adopt a law in 1837 that allowed Christmas Day to become a grace period when it came to bill paying. If a debtor had to pay his/her debt on the 25th, they would have until December 26, which is also known as Boxing Day. Also, debtors would have one more day with their money, interest-free, as creditors would lose a day of interest. So the official score in Louisiana was a bit different: Debtor=1, Creditor=0.
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