NOTR - CROMWELL & THE MYTH OF PAGAN CHRISTMAS - 12.25.21
Today's Show: CROMWELL & THE MYTH OF PAGAN CHRISTMAS - 12.25.2021
Chris discusses the history of the celebration of Christmas in the Western world, along with the controversies surrounding the day itself. It is often claimed that Christmas was somehow taken from the old pagan world, and was originally the feast of Saturnalia or some other heathen event. We review an article written by an Oxford educated historian who writes about the “myth” of a pagan Christmas, and argues that it has been a thoroughly Christian holiday from the beginning. We also discuss the history of how the Puritans banned Christmas during the time of Oliver Cromwell. Was Cromwell himself against the celebration? We hear from the curator of the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, England on the subject, who also reveals how the legislation was received by the people of that time.
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