North West Territory Alliance - NWTA

21 hours ago

Many colonists in New England celebrated Christmas, importing English customs such as drinking, feasting, mumming and wassailing. Mumming, or “masking,” involved people dressing up in costume and going from house to house, putting on plays and otherwise performing. Wassailers also traveled between homes, drinking and singing while passing around bowls full of spiced ale or mulled wine.

In the middle and southern colonies, where there was more religious diversity, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Moravians and other groups introduced their own Christmas traditions to the New World, both religious and secular.

Far from the children-focused occasion it is today, the Christmas season was packed with adult activities such as parties, feasts, hunts, balls and—of course—church services. People decorated homes and churches with evergreen plants such as holly, ivy, mountain laurel and mistletoe, a favorite of couples seeking a holiday kiss.

In addition to mumming and wassailing, revelers in southern colonies like Virginia enjoyed caroling, singing popular English favorites such as “The First Noel," "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen” and "The Holly and the Ivy."

Though Christmas had become a relatively mainstream celebration by the mid-18th century, it still wasn’t officially recognized as a holiday by the time of the Revolutionary War. In 1789, Congress went so far as to hold its first session on Christmas Day.

It would take nearly a century for Congress to declare Christmas a national holiday, which it finally did in 1870. By that time, traditions such as the Christmas tree, Santa Claus and gift-giving had made their way into the American mainstream, helping to turn December 25 into the family-friendly holiday we know and love today.

Republished from history.com ... See MoreSee Less