What does it mean…

To be a European American? My dad asked this of my sisters and me many years ago. After spouting off the patriotism engrained in our fragile minds, he said, “Actually, it means you’ve been kicked out of every civilized country there is.” Sure, let’s suppose that some people came here for a better life. But not my family! Oh, no! We have a LONG history of being anti-papist and anti-monarchy. Well, not so much anti-monarchy. We preferred a Protestant bastard assume the throne over the Papist heir. So, we left in the Bloody Assizes, and we were among those who (bribed) were taken advantage of by government officials.

Anyway, why do I bring all of this up? Well, there I was at my church’s Christmas pageant, and they gave a brief history of Christmas. In England, apparently, Christmas was banned, it was implied, by Charles Stuart, also known as Charles II of England.

I thought, “Interesting,” and the name rang a bell. I decided to Google the event, and it turns out the PURITIANS banned Christmas, not the Papists! So, Charles II of England is absolved. Certainly not an ideal monarch, by any means, but it was my relatives who banned Christmas and persecuted those who celebrated it!

I suppose there was a good reason we were expelled…
Anyway, Catholics take tradition and history and twist it to their own desires, but Protestants need not be so self-righteous about being “clean.” Nope, Protestants did their own persecuting along the way.