By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today’s Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the “lord of misrule” and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined “debt” to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.把圣诞节当做是传统冬至节日，教会领导人增加了圣诞节受欢迎的机会。但放弃命令是如何庆祝的，在中世纪，基督教替代了异教徒信仰。在圣诞，信徒来到教堂，然后以醉酒喧闹来庆祝。嘉年华那样的气氛，和狂欢节很像。每年，乞丐或学生会变成帝王，要求教父扮演他的子民。穷人会去富人家里，要求提供最好的吃喝。如果主人不答应，他们的访客很可能会以恶作剧形式报复，圣诞变成了上流人们对社会报答他们真实或想象的债，来娱乐底层人民。
AN OUTLAW CHRISTMAS 一个不合法的圣诞节
In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England ofdecadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.在17世纪初期，一波宗教改革改变了欧洲庆祝圣诞的方式，清教徒想把英格兰脱离衰落，他们的影响下取消了圣诞。由于广大需求，查理二世恢复皇位，圣诞节也重新回来。
The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.朝圣者，英格兰分离分子在1620来到美国，他们更正统，早期圣诞在美国不是假期，1659到1681，圣诞庆祝在波士顿禁止了。任何人展示圣诞氛围的都要罚钱。相反，在Jamestown的解决办法是可以享受圣诞，没有任何障碍。
After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.在美国改革后，英国文化风俗失宠，保括圣诞。事实上，圣诞不是联邦节日直到1870。
IRVING REINVENTS CHRISTMAS改良版圣诞
It wasn’t until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia.But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday?还没到19世纪，每个人开始喜欢圣诞。美国人重新改造圣诞，把它将嘈杂的嘉年华节日家庭为中心的平静和回忆过去。但，1800年代达到峰值，美国人喜欢节日么？
