New England Puritan culture and recreation facts for kids

The Puritan culture in the New England colonies during the 1600s was shaped by their strong religious beliefs. They believed in a powerful God and tried to live very religious and dedicated lives. Even with their strict beliefs, Puritans enjoyed some fun activities. These included visual arts, writing, and music.

Puritan Literature

Puritans believed it was very important to read the Bible. Because of this, they valued reading and writing highly. They created many different types of writings. Their main types of literature were sermons, diaries, and poetry.

Sermons

Puritan ministers often preached about parts of the Bible. They carefully studied the Bible to base their beliefs directly on its words. Their sermons were well-prepared and often memorized. They usually lasted about an hour. Some famous ministers whose sermons still exist today include Cotton Mather, John Davenport, and Jonathan Edwards.

Diaries

Puritans used personal diaries to write down how they saw God working in their lives. They also wrote about their own struggles to follow God's plan. Some Puritans used these personal notes to write stories about events. They focused on how God helped people. For example, William Bradford wrote about the Puritans' journey to America in his book Of Plymouth Plantation. Other Puritans published diaries that focused on God's involvement in their own lives.

Poetry

Puritans were not widely known for writing poetry. However, some did. Edward Taylor wrote his own poems to help him prepare for his Sunday sermons. He spent a lot of time thinking about the Bible. He wrote poems that matched the religious lessons he planned to teach. His poetry shows his deep love and dedication to God. Some of his poems include "Psalm Two" and "Huswifery."

Another Puritan poet was Anne Bradstreet. She was a woman who wrote very personal and detailed poetry. This was unusual for Puritan women at the time. She used her poems to show her love for her family, her husband, and God. Her famous poems include "To My Dear and Loving Husband" and "Contemplations."

Puritan Music

Puritans avoided using musical instruments during church services. However, outside of church, they enjoyed music. Historians say they liked the sound of instruments like lutes, violins, and flutes.

In 1716, an advertisement in Boston showed that a music store existed. It sold instruments like flutes, violins, and instruction books. This store was even located in a dancing school! This shows that music was enjoyed in Boston during that time.

Psalm Books

The way music was used in Puritan church meetings changed over time. By the late 1500s, Puritans started using The Whole Bookie of Psalmes. These were hymns that went along with sermons. These hymns put words from the Old Testament psalms into songs. Singing these scriptures was seen as serving God, not as an art form. When this "psalm singing" came to America, many historians believe it helped start a unique musical tradition in the New World.

Later, in the late 1500s, a new psalm book was published. It was called The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Meter. This book changed the words of the psalms to fit more pleasant tunes. With this new book came a new way of singing called "singing by note." This method used a lead singer and familiar melodies. It made congregational singing more personal. This change caused some arguments among Puritans. The new hymn book broke from some of their usual ways. It started to change church practices to make the music sound better.

Visual Arts

Puritans did not think that beauty in art was wrong. They did not object to nice visual things. However, Puritans were very practical people. This limited how much art was made in America. Daily life activities were usually more important than fancy art in Puritan communities.

Besides decorations on buildings and small home items, paintings also appeared. The Freake paintings and Captain Thomas Smith's self-portrait are examples. These show that Puritans were involved in visual arts. Puritan women also created handicrafts. They enjoyed sewing and making fine fabrics.

Physical Activity

There is not much information about sports in the general Puritan lifestyle. Puritan beliefs encouraged avoiding "idle" or lazy actions. Puritans believed that work was very important. They saw it as their duty to God to spend all their time productively. Being distracted from this way of life was seen as a bad thing. Sports were often considered a leisurely activity. This meant they were seen as a vice. This stopped sports from becoming popular among Puritans in the Thirteen Colonies.

Even though sports were often seen as against their beliefs, some Puritan leaders supported "lawful recreation." They believed it helped people become better. A Puritan theologian named William Burkitt said that recreation was "needful and expedient." Scholars noted that as Puritan beliefs changed, their view of the body also shifted. They started to see the body as "neutral," not always sinful. This meant they looked for productive ways to use the body. This new understanding allowed for more ideas about what was okay and what was not. Organized games were rare. However, historians say that physical activity was common in Puritan New England. This was mostly through manual labor.