Ruth by Lake and Prairie, my first book, told the story of several New England families who sailed the Great Lakes to Illinois in 1831. Chances are extremely good that they did not celebrate Christmas, and certainly not like the English did.

While the details are murky, Ruth’s family was probably Scots-Irish. In the mid-1700s, large numbers of Scots-Irish immigrated to America, including Ruth’s grandparents. The lure of cheap land was no doubt the main attraction, but religious freedom was also important. Even though the Stuart kings of England were Protestant, they were rabid about their particular form of Protestantism and did not tolerate any adaptations.

In America, people could follow their own religious beliefs, and since Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers, and similar groups did not believe in celebrating Christmas, December 25 was just another day. French and Spanish immigrants, being Catholic, did celebrate, but those settlements tended to be north in Canada or south in Florida. Most New England settlers were Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers.

England itself celebrated Christmas in a big way and had been celebrating for centuries, starting back in Roman days with the festival of Saturnalia. Saturn is the god of agriculture, and the festival occurs around the winter solstice to encourage the return of spring. By the fourth century, Christians such as Saint Augustine were already incorporating Roman and pagan observances into their celebrations, including Saturnalia.

Medieval England turned Christmas into a twelve-night festival, a tradition that continued into Tudor times. The celebration included feasts, games, and gifts. Decorating with greenery and burning the Yule log were also common customs. Germany added the Christmas tree in the 1500s, although that practice wouldn’t really catch on in England until the 1840s when Queen Victoria’s German husband introduced it.

The Puritan Oliver Cromwell outlawed English Christmas celebrations in 1645, and the American colonies banned Christmas in 1659. That law was repealed in 1681 but continued to be practiced for the next two centuries. December 25 was finally named a federal holiday by President Grant in 1870, giving employees a day off from work and children a day off from school.

The Puritanical view of Christmas remained common in New England and most likely went west with Ruth’s family in 1831, even though Washington Irving was already writing about Christmas celebrations in 1819 and Clement Moore had already published "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823.

That said, snippets gleaned from history books suggest that the settlers who sailed with Ruth were not a particularly religious group. So, did they celebrate more or less? They might not have honored the holy day, but it’s recorded that they were quite familiar with blackstrap and whiskey!

Some of these Puritan Illinois settlers may not have celebrated Christmas like folks back in England, but French settlers already living along Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River had traditions to share. Later, an influx of German settlers arrived in the 1840s, and Swedish immigration swelled during the Civil War. Each group brought their own holiday customs, too.

Charles Dickens himself came to America in the 1860s, reading A Christmas Carol to audiences eager to embrace Victorian Christmas traditions.

Christmas celebrations have come a long way from Roman to Puritan to Victorian, combining so many traditions from different cultures. All that’s missing is twelve riotous days to celebrate like the Medieval holiday!