Christmas Timeline

1870

Christmas Day becomes official in the United States

On June 26, 1870 Christmas is declared a federal holiday with most workers receiving paid time off.

1659

Christmas is against the law in Boston but celebrated in Jamestown

English colonists arrived in America fleeing religious persecution with an orthodox Puritan contingent banning Christmas in Boston while a more lenient group shared eggnog during Christmas in Jamestown, Virginia.

Middle Ages

Christmas becomes the “Mardi Gras” of the Middle Ages

After dutifully attending church services on Christmas Day, all heck breaks loose with displays of public drunkenness, revelry and rabble-rousing.

221

December 25 is designated as the official date of Christmas

With the help of astronomers and mathematicians, Sextus Julius Africanus, a 1st Millenium historian, calculates the date of Jesus’ birth as December 25.