Which holiday was outlawed in Puritan Massachusetts?

When the Puritans came to the New World (America) in the 17th century, they brought with them their strict ways, their religious views, and their strong disdain for Christmas. Accordingly, this holiday was outlawed in Massachusetts and other colonies.

Although Christmas was widely celebrated in Europe as a Christian holiday marking the birth of Jesus Christ, Puritans saw it as a false holiday with stronger ties to paganism than Christianity.

As contained in the book, The Battle for Christmas, they were correct. It says, "The Puritans were correct when they pointed out – and they pointed it out often – that Christmas was nothing but a pagan festival covered with a Christian veneer. The Reverend Increase Mather of Boston, for example, accurately observed in 1687 that the early Christians who first observed the Nativity on December 25 did not do so ‘thinking that Christ was born in that month, but because the Heathens Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan holidays metamorphosed into Christian ones.’”

Once the Puritans left Europe, they decided to leave this holiday tradition behind. Instead of feasting and giving gifts, Puritans commemorated Christmas by praying, reflecting on sin and working instead of resting.