Norfolk & Good
Norfolk & Good
Norfolk & Good Christmas Countdown 2025: The Christmas Ban
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Christmas in Norfolk hasn’t always been plain sailing. During the English Civil War, the Puritan-dominated Parliament passed legislation to abolish Christmas and other religious festivals, viewing them as popish and an excuse for excess and immorality. A full ban on celebrations was enacted in June 1647.
Guess how Norwich reacted?
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Hi, I’m Andrew
S: and I’m Steph.
Welcome back to a not so merry episode of Norfolk Christmas.
S: Christmas in Norfolk hasn’t always been plain sailing. During the English Civil War, the Puritan-dominated Parliament passed legislation to abolish Christmas and other religious festivals, viewing them as popish and an excuse for excess and immorality. A full ban on celebrations was enacted in June 1647.
The ban was deeply unpopular and met with resistance across the country, leading to demonstrations and riots in several cities, including Canterbury, Ipswich, and… no surprises here… Norwich.
The major unrest in Norwich occurred in April 1648, known locally as the "Great Blow". It was triggered when a petition was sent to Parliament to have the popular mayor, John Utting, arrested and brought to London on charges of being a Royalist sympathizer who was too lenient towards "malignant" (Royalist) clergy and had allowed a suspected Royalist to be elected to office.
A: The "Great Blow" was a riot in Norwich and actually occurred on April 24, 1648,
where a crowd accidentally detonated 98 barrels of gunpowder, causing the largest explosion in 17th-century England. The event occurred during a riot against the county committee, when protesters seized the town's gunpowder magazine. The explosion destroyed many buildings, killed around 80 people, and wounded many more, with damage estimated at £20,000
The Great Blow has been directly linked to the ban on Christmas celebrations where crowds resisted Parliament's ban and tried to force shops to remain closed on Christmas Day.
Remember to listen to tomorrow's episode on Winter Walks.