Connecticut’s First Christmas
By David Wright
Town Historian
Did you know the first Christmas ever celebrated in Connecticut was celebrated in Stratford? If you didn’t know, you’re not alone. Most of Connecticut would also be ignorant of this significant Stratford fact. The Puritans found holidays, particularly Christmas, to be idolatrous, raucous, sinful occasions during which all types of mayhem occurred, including looting, physical abuse, and heavy drinking.
The English poor had very little, so the more fortunate members of many English communities felt it was their duty to allow drunkenness and looting to occur at Christmas time, since the poor needed some way to provide for themselves. The looting and drunkenness frequently lead to more serious vexations, and the Puritans were to permit none of this under their watch. Hence, the first Christmas celebrated in Connecticut occurred in, you guessed it, Stratford.
When Samuel Johnson built the first Christ Church in Stratford in 1723, he determined that Christmas should be observed by the members of the Church of England in his parish, as it had been done “back home” in England. Therefore, the first Christmas observed in Connecticut was observed by the members of Christ Church in Stratford in December 1724.
Observance of Christmas in Connecticut violated the “blue laws”, but most Connecticans were willing “to look the other way” as Stratford’s Christ Church celebrated Connecticut’s first Christmas. Thereafter, the observance of Christmas spread throughout Connecticut. But as in so many other cases, what happened in Stratford in Colonial times has been lost to the ages. We wanted you to know, once again, one of the many ways our town has distinguished itself over the centuries.
You may be interested in a couple of newspaper articles from the past.
Bridgeport Evening Post
December 26, 1894
STRATFORD.
The services at Christ church on Christmas morning were well attended, and the appropriate decorations and excellent music contributed greatly to the enjoyment of all. A new and beautiful altar cloth, and pulpit fontal and bookmarks, the gifts of Mrs. John Benjamin, were used for the first time. The subject of the rector’s discourse was “Christmas in Stratford in 1724.” In the course of his sermon, Rev. Mr. Cornwall spoke as follows:
“One hundred and seventy years ago today, the first church edifice in this parish was opened for service. The Rev. Samuel Johnson was appointed resident missionary in 1723, and about one year after his settlement, the first church was completed and occupied tor the first time on Christmas day, 1724.”
We may picture to ourselves something of the appearance of the church and the town at that time. The new edifice was a small wooden structure 45½ feet long, 30½ feet wide and 22 feet high. It stood just south of the old burying ground and a few rods from it upon the hill stood the Congregational place of worship, a building of about the same size. Around the church and upon the hill were various residences, one of which, at least, is still standing. And from it and other very old houses in various parts of the town, we can judge of the appearance of the houses of two centuries ago…
The Stratford News
November 19,1974
Christmas in Connecticut: it started here in 1724
The 250th anniversary of the first public celebration of Christmas in the Colony of Connecticut, and of the dedication of the first Episcopal Church building, will be observed Christmas Day at Christ Episcopal Church, Main Street.
On Christmas Day in 1724, when the Rev. Samuel Johnson (whose son was a signer of the Constitution in 1789) dedicated Christ Episcopal Church with a Christmas Day service, the celebration was against the law, having been banned by the Puritans as a “pagan” holiday unfit for Christian observance.
The “radical” preacher was not, however, arrested for his deed, the Puritan grip on the colony having begun to fade, although the law was on the books. Some Puritan laws still are the so-called “Blue Laws”, a holdover from Connecticut’s colonial days…
After many delays the church building was completed and opened for divine services on Christmas Day, 1724.
We sincerely wish you a joyous and peace filled holiday season!
