Did you know? Presbyterians once banned Christmas for a huge chunk of history

The guys putting up a Christmas tree in the common area! Photo: Gerald Farinas.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, about a dozen of us gathered at Edgewater Presbyterian Church. We laughed, untangled lights, and put up wreaths and greenery everywhere to get ready for Advent and Christmas. It was a lovely evening—ending with pizza from Pizzeria Aroma.

But here is the history most people find shocking! Our Presbyterian ancestors would have been horrified by this. They would have shuddered at the sight of our decorations.

For hundreds of years, celebrating Christmas and Advent was forbidden in the Presbyterian tradition. They saw the whole thing as a sin.

How did our local church change from one that completely rejected Christmas to one that celebrates it so fully?

It comes down to one simple, strict rule they followed.

Regulative Principle of Worship

The main reason for the ban was what they called the Regulative Principle of Worship. In easier to understand words, it’s called God’s Rule for Church Services.

This rule was simple. The Church could only do things in worship that were directly commanded by God in the Bible. If the Bible didn't tell you to do something, they believed it should not be part of your church service.

Since the Bible never told Christians to celebrate the day Jesus was born, they saw Christmas as a holiday invented by humans, not God. The only holy day commanded by God that they kept was Sunday, the Lord’s Day.

Banning Christmas

Our Presbyterian ancestors were part of a larger movement called Puritanism and the people were called Puritans. Yes! The same Puritans you’re thinking of.

They wanted to clean up the Church and get rid of any tradition that seemed too Roman Catholic—the mother church from which we broke away from. They saw Christmas as a tradition from Rome and wanted no part of it.

This led to some strict actions. During the 1600s, the Puritan government in England actually banned Christmas and made it a normal workday. They did the same thing in Colonial America.

In Massachusetts, you could even be fined for celebrating Christmas between 1659 and 1681.

They also believed the day was too easily tied to pagan customs and often led to bad behavior like too much drinking and partying.

Forget that! Let’s decorate again

The strict rules began to change slowly as the world around the Church shifted. Most people agree the main change happened in the late 1800s and early 1900s when Presbyterianism started to conform to local customs wherever they were. It became harder for local churches to ignore the holiday, which was becoming huge in the general culture.

As the Church softened, they started to see value in marking the time when God became man, which we call the Incarnation. They began to use the season to focus on the story of Jesus coming to earth.

Today, most major Presbyterian groups fully celebrate Advent and Christmas. We focus on the sacred story of the birth of Christ (and also the Second Coming of Christ in the future), transforming what was once a forbidden tradition into a meaningful time of worship.

Our ancestors would certainly be surprised by our lights and wreaths, but they would probably be speechless if they saw our annual community holiday concert.

Santa Claus makes an appearance—and the old pastors and elders certainly would’ve had a heart attack!