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sports19h ago
This Puritan tradition to appease God’s wrath became a Maine holiday
- New England’s Patriot’s Day evolved from an older Fast Day tradition dating to the 1600s and 1700s, tied to prayers for calm and crops.
- Fast Days were officially sanctioned to appease God’s wrath and prevent crop failures and disease in early New England.
- Massachusetts replaced Fast Day with Patriot’s Day in 1894, formalizing the modern holiday.
- Maine abolished Fast Day for good in 1907 as it adopted Patriot’s Day for late April.
- New Hampshire held Fast Day until 1991 before shifting to Civil Rights and later Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
- The Boston Marathon episode is linked to Patriot’s Day as the public celebration of spring’s arrival.
- Archival reporting shows early 1900s Bangor observed Fast Day with theater and social events rather than strict fasting.
- Robigalia and Rogation Days are cited as ancient precursors to the religious spring fasts linked to New England customs.
- The article links Maine’s religious history to modern national observances, including the Boston Marathon tradition on Patriot’s Day.
- The piece underscores that Patriot’s Day remains a public holiday in some states, even as Maine lacks official status for the day.
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