And I
regret to say there are certain modern "fanatical recusants," certain
modern Puritans, as schismatical in this particular as their gloomy
precursors. Mr. Cambridge then proceeds "to account for a revolution
which has rendered this season (so eminently distinguished in former
times) now so little different from the rest of the year," which he
thinks "no difficult task." The reasons he assigns are, the decline of
devotion, and the increase of luxury, the latter of which has extended
rejoicings and feastings, formerly peculiar to Christmas, through the
whole year; these have consequently lost their raciness, the appetite
for amusement has become palled by satiety, and the relish for it,
reserved formerly for this particular season, is now no longer peculiar
to it, having been already dissipated and exhausted. Another cause he
assigns is, "the too general desertion of the country, the great scene
of hospitality." Now this was written just fifty-three years ago, and as
all the causes assigned for the declension of this grand national
festivity up to that period are incontrovertible, and have been
operating even more powerfully ever since, they will sufficiently
account for the still greater declension observable in our days.
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