In 1643, the English Puritan parliament frowned on the pagan rituals of Christmas and banned its celebration after William Prynne published his anti-Christmas manifesto.
Clergymen were imprisoned for so much as preaching on December 25.
After several years of rioting against the ban, King Charles II arrested Prynne and had him pilloried then had both his ears cut off while the manifesto was burned in front of him.
The king re-established Christmas celebrations, but not before having Prynne expelled from Oxford and the legal profession.
