THE EARLIEST SCROOGE OF RECORD

Christmas today is not the same as those of yesterday.

The holiday under different names was celebrated centuries before the birth of Christ. Pagan in substance. Drunkenness, sexual orgies, human sacrifice, etc.

What follows is a brief history of Christmas as practiced in early America. Specifically, the 1600s and 1700s.

The Puritans were the earliest Scrooges of record. Descendants of the English Reformation. Christmas had no place in England because of the pagan history of the holiday. Oliver Cromwell banned the practice of Christmas in England.

The Puritans did not recognize Christmas nor would they permit the few who wanted to to practice it. Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659-1681.

Colonials during the American Revolution did not recognize the holiday. English influence prevailed.

Several years after the Revolution, a handful of colonists began celebrating Christmas. The English influence no longer carried the weight it did prior to the Revolution. It was not Christmas as we know it. The event was rowdy. Similar to Mardi Gras and Fantasy Fest.

Tomorrow, I will trace Christmas in America a bit further. The story interesting.

Spent 1.5 hours yesterday morning getting examined. All kinds of tests. All that remains is the actual physical by the doctor which will take place next week.

Stopped at Publix afterwards. Needed a few things. Very few shoppers. However, those that were there were pushing extremely full carts to the cash registers. Early Christmas grocery shoppers.

Peter Max will be in Key West in February. Three separate visits. He will be showing at the Key West Gallery.

His visit exciting!

The Berlin terrorist was caught and killed in Milan.

All Italian cities are beautiful. Milan perhaps the most beautiful. I have visited several times.

Milan is a business and governmental center. Its people as beautiful as the City.

The Piazza del Duomo is one of Milan’s most exciting areas.

The Milan Cathedral aka Duomo di Milan sits at one end of the Piazza. Huge. Magnificent. Steeples galore. Took almost six centuries to build.

I recall one day when the heat was getting to me. I needed cool. Air conditioning is not as prevalent in Italy as in the U.S. Electricity not sufficient to air condition everything. Especially a huge cathedral.

Churches are always cool. Thick stone walls, small colored windows.

I went inside the Cathedral. I fell asleep for two hours. Slept till an attendant/guard nudged me awake. Told me I could not sleep in the Cathedral.

On one side of the Pizza sits a three story stone building. The second floor has a huge balcony. Mussolini stood on the balcony shouting to the crowded Piazza…..War, War, War! He was announcing Italy’s entrance into what would become World War II.

A few blocks off the Piazza is the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The home of the Last Supper. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495.

The Last Supper is painted on the wall of the dining room. Quite large. 15′ x 29′.

I never  knew it was that large or painted on a wall till I saw the painting for the first time.

An awesome sight! The painting captures the instant moment when Jesus revealed to his friends that one of them would betray him. Da Vinci captured what would have been the shock and rage on the faces of the apostles.

Enjoy your day!