Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Ten - The Debate

Ever since the its inception, Christmas has seen a great deal of debate over whether or not it should be celebrated. Early theologians made the case that only sinners celebrated the birthdays of gods, and the Christian God should not be treated likewise. This school of thought was defeated when Christmas became a was declared the official Christian holiday.

And over the years the holiday suffered more disagreements about the way Christ's birth should be celebrated. The church did not look too highly upon Yule trees, logs, singing secular songs, or even gift giving. But there always seemed to be a church leader that incorporated the traditions into the mass, eventually allowing the acceptance of these traditions in Christianized fashion.

But the Christianization of the holiday meant that it was a Catholic holiday, and when the reformation stuck, not celebrating the Lord's birth was another way to rebel against the overpowering Catholic church. Protestants were known to call Christmas "trappings of popery" and "rags of the beast".

During the English Civil War in 1647, British parliament outlawed Christmas. Many Catholics responded to the Christmas ban rioting all over the country. Rioters even occupied - and decorated - Canterbury for several weeks. Charles II removed the ban in 1660, but there were many in the church who disapproved of the celebration of Christmas.

Similarly, it was widely disapproved of by American Puritans too. Many places outlawed Christmas, while German settlers celebrated Christmas just as they had in Europe. After the American Revolution, it was seen as a British custom, and therefore not celebrated as much.

Many writers in the 1800s began to worry that Christmas was dying out, and began to write stories based around these holidays. Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, and helped to revive the holiday probably more than any other book. He presented Christmas as a time for goodwill and family and the traditions caught on once more.

President Ulysses S. Grant declared Christmas a Federal holiday in 1870, making the celebration of Christmas in America an national past time. It also opened up another debate about Christmas: commercialization.