The history of why Christmas in Scotland was banned for nearly 400 years

dailyrecord.co.uk:

It's strange to imagine what December would be like without Christmas at the end of it, but that is exactly what it was like in Scotland for almost 400 years.In fact, it was only relatively recently that the holiday was openly celebrated in the country.

For hundreds of years, celebrating Christmas was strictly a private affair for those not wanting to face harsh punishment or even imprisonment.To find out the reason for this, we have to journey all the way back to 1560.

Around this time, Scotland officially split from the Papacy and Catholic Church — a period referred to as the Scottish Reformation.Yuletide celebrations (which combined the Viking Yule celebrations with the Christian Christmas) were effectively cancelled, as the Church of Scotland associated Christmas with the extravagant celebrations of the Catholic Church.

Instead, they sought a simpler, 'purer', and stricter way of life. After this, openly celebrating the holiday was heavily frowned upon.