Now, it had to be a Christmas story ..... but this week's offer from The Long View, nicely combines Christmas under the shadow of the Virus with that period of the 17th century when Christmas was banned .. or atleast the sort of Christmas we might have enjoyed.
Leaving me just to say that as ever this was an interesting view of a contemporary event and its parallel from the past, and the rest is down to the sleeve notes.
"A society wrestles with what to do about enjoying itself over Christmas. Prevailing thinking says that hidden dangers lurk in enjoying the festivities that we are used to.
Debate rages across the country about self-restraint, family reunions, and fears over the consequences of getting it wrong.
That’s the story today, as governments and individuals try to decide how much freedom we can allow ourselves over Christmas at the height of the Covid pandemic.
But it was also the story in 1644, as the Puritan controlled government of the day, imposed stringent restrictions on festivities, not because of plague and pestilence this time, but because of a fear of moral degeneracy and damnation.
Pictures; A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE, date unknown, and A CAVALIER, advertised 1903/1904 POSTCARD Catalogue, listed in 1904 & 1908/1909 POSTCARD Catalogue, from a set of six, produced by Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdbpostcards.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment