Editing Father Christmas (section)

==== Puritan revolution and the emergence of Father Christmas ====
The rise of Puritanism brought accusations of popery against pre-Reformation Christmas traditions. When the Puritans took control of England's government in the mid-1640s, they sought to abolish Christmas entirely. From 1644 to 1660, during the Interregnum, celebrating Christmas was outlawed. Parliament’s 1647 ''Ordinance for Abolishing of Festivals'' formally banned Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun.

Royalist pamphleteers responded by connecting traditional Christmas customs with the monarchy and the Church of England, portraying Christmas as a nostalgic symbol of feasting and festivity. In their hands, Old Father Christmas became a lamenting figure mourning the loss of "the good old days."

One such example, ''The Arraignment, Conviction and Imprisoning of Christmas'' (1646), presented a Royalist gentlewoman seeking Old Father Christmas. The author, a parliamentarian, described him critically:

''"For age, this hoarie headed man was of great yeares, and as white as snow; he entred the Romish Kallender time out of mind ... he was full and fat as any dumb Docter ... but, since the catholike liquor is taken from him, he is much wasted."''

Despite these Puritan efforts, Father Christmas endured, evolving into a symbol of defiance against Christmas suppression. By the Restoration in 1660, he had solidified his role as a personification of festive cheer, paving the way for his later development into the figure synonymous with holiday merriment.