Christmas Returns to England
Christmas was legitimized when the English monarchy, led by Charles II, returned to power in 1660. The holiday could be observed freely, and people were happy. The popular sentiment of the time was expressed in this verse:
Now thanks to God for Charles’ return, Whose absence made old Christmas mourn; For then we scarcely did it know, Whether it Christmas were or no.
With the goodwill of the new leaders, and with the lifting of the formal bans instituted under the Puritans, Christmas seemed to be positioned for a comeback of titanic proportions in England. But it was not to be.
The holiday was, at the outset of the Restoration, a shadow of what it had been. The pagan excesses and riotous elements were not the only things lost to the Puritan purge; the Christmas spirit seemed to have left many hearts and minds.
Indeed, although the Puritans had been deposed, much of their philosophy still carried a lot of weight, and many carried on as if they were still in power. Christmas may have been legal, but it was still opposed by some powerful members of the clergy. This left a good many parishioners in a bind, and kept the holiday from making much of a public recovery. The middle of the eighteenth century brought still more obstacles.
In this time of the Industrial Revolution, all thoughts had seemingly turned toward work; everything took a back seat to the quest for money and progress. In this fast-paced atmosphere, it appeared, there was simply no room for holidays.
Festive Fact
In 1761, the Bank of England closed for 47 holidays over the course of a year; in 1834, it closed for only four. Employees of the mid-nineteenth century considered themselves lucky to get a half-day off for Christmas.
The numbing, inescapable want of most English workers and their families was one of the chief reasons that people had a hard time finding much to celebrate during this period.
Common people didn’t have much to celebrate with and they didn’t have much time, either. England had entered into an era of child labor, miserable working conditions, and endless workweeks.
Throughout this period, there were small, quiet groups of people who kept the holiday alive in their hearts and homes. But mass enjoyment of the holiday would not take place again until the Victorian Era.
