Pope Night facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pope Night |
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Artist's depiction of Pope Night in Boston, 1768
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| Observed by | Working-class Protestants in colonial New England |
| Celebrations | Processions, asking for money from homeowners, street fighting, and burning of the pope in effigy |
| Date | November 5 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First time | 1623 |
| Last time | 1892 |
| Related to | |
Pope Night (also known as Pope's Night, Pope Day, or Pope's Day) was an old holiday celebrated every year on November 5 in the colonial United States. It started from the British Guy Fawkes Night, which remembers a failed plot in 1605. Pope Night was most popular in seaport towns like Boston in New England. It was a time for parades, protests, and burning large dolls (effigies) of the Pope.
Over time, groups from different neighborhoods in Boston would fight to see who got to burn the Pope's effigy. By the mid-1760s, these fights became less common. As America moved towards the American Revolution (1765-1783), the holiday changed. Instead of fighting each other, people used Pope Night to protest against British rule. A leader named Ebenezer Mackintosh helped unite the groups from Boston's North and South End to protest against the Stamp Act of 1765.
Leaders tried to stop the celebrations many times. In 1775, George Washington told his soldiers not to take part. He did not want to upset Canadian allies. The last known Pope Night in Boston was in 1776. However, the tradition continued in other towns until the late 1800s.
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How Pope Night Started
The first known Pope Night celebration happened on November 5, 1623, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Sailors built a large bonfire, which accidentally burned down some nearby homes. By the late 1600s, yearly celebrations on November 5 were a tradition in New England.
Major celebrations took place in Boston, Marblehead, Newburyport, Salem, and Portsmouth. In 1702, people in Marblehead even held a bull-baiting event. They then gave the meat to people who needed it.
Celebrations in the 1700s
Over the years, the celebrations became more detailed. By the 1720s, simple bonfires were replaced with parades. People carried large effigies of the Pope and the Devil through the streets. These effigies were then burned.
The people who celebrated were often from the "lower orders" of society. This included sailors, workers, apprentices, and servants. Most active participants were males. Women usually only watched the events.
Pope Night was most lively in Boston. This was because many sailors lived there. Sailors were often at the bottom of the social ladder. For them, a night of celebration and protesting against the wealthy was very appealing. Pope Night gave common people a chance to show their unhappiness. They did this by pretending to protest against the Pope. The loud and sometimes wild parties were allowed because they seemed to be against the Pope.
Efforts to Stop the Fun
Wealthy people in Boston were not happy with the rowdy celebrations. One person complained in 1745. They called the people celebrating "rude and intoxicated Rabble." They asked the authorities to stop the events.
In 1748, local officials said they would send police to keep the peace. They noted that people were going around with clubs. They were asking for money and breaking windows if people refused. Similar notices were put out for the next four years, but nothing changed.
In 1753, the Great and General Court passed a law. It banned "riotous, tumultuous and disorderly Assemblies." This included carrying "pageants and other shews" through the streets of Boston. The court passed similar laws in 1756, 1758, 1763, and 1769. But people still wanted to have their fun.
The 1769 law added penalties for asking wealthy residents for money. It said that if three or more people gathered, armed or disguised, with effigies for a public show, and demanded money, they would be fined. They could also be jailed for up to one month. If the person was a Black servant, they could be whipped.
It seems authorities could not rely on the local militia to keep order. This might be because the militia members themselves were part of the celebrations. In 1764, a boy was killed during Pope Night. Officials were ordered to destroy the effigies. But they could not control the crowd, which had thousands of people.
The Holiday Changes
The Stamp Act was passed in March 1765. This caused a lot of anger in the American colonies. The Sons of Liberty were a key group of American protesters. The Loyal Nine, a group of nine businessmen, led the Sons of Liberty. They connected common people with wealthier classes.
That summer, the Loyal Nine helped unite the North and South End groups. On Pope Night 1765, people held a "Union Feast." There was one parade led by both the South End leader, Ebenezer Mackintosh, and the North End leader, Samuel Swift. The two groups stopped fighting each other. Mackintosh became the leader of the united group. John Hancock and other wealthy patriots gave them food and supplies. Pope Night helped provide the "scaffolding, symbolism, and leadership" for protesting the Stamp Act.
In 1774, the Quebec Act was passed. This law allowed French Canadians to practice Catholicism freely in Quebec. Some Americans worried that the British were bringing back "Popish principles." This made some people think Pope Night might become popular again.
In 1775, George Washington was not happy about this idea. He told his soldiers not to take part. He said it was "ridiculous and childish" to burn the Pope's effigy. He explained that they needed the friendship of Canadians. He said insulting their religion was "monstrous."
After Washington's order, American colonists mostly stopped celebrating Pope Night. Some people in Boston celebrated it one last time in 1776. The tradition ended in Boston partly because of Washington's order. Also, many of the celebrants were patriots. They likely left Boston when the British held it. The holiday also celebrated the failure of a plot against the British king. Now, the king was the enemy.
The tradition continued in Salem until at least 1817. It was still celebrated in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1892. In the 1880s, bonfires were still lit in some New England coastal towns. However, they were no longer to remember the Gunpowder Plot.
How Pope Night Was Celebrated
At its most popular, Pope Night in Boston had three parts. First, a parade with effigies of the Pope and other figures. Second, a battle between the North and South End parades. Third, the winners would burn the effigies. People spent weeks getting their effigies ready. The parades were organized by elected leaders. These leaders were from the working class, not the usual politicians. Ebenezer Mackintosh, a shoemaker, was one such leader.
The Parade
Young boys led the parade. They carried small effigies of the pope. The boys made the heads of their "popes" from potatoes. They put the effigies on boards. Some were small enough for one boy to carry. Others needed two or three boys. During the day, they went door to door with their popes. They asked for money from neighbors. This was much like trick-or-treating.
Next came the large effigies. These were on wheeled platforms, like parade floats. The effigies' heads could be raised. They looked like they were peeking into second-story windows. The crowd shouted insults at the figures as they passed.
The floats were usually about ten to twelve feet long. Some were much larger. One float in Newburyport was forty feet long. It was so heavy that several horses had to pull it. It carried more effigies of monks and friars. It also had dancers and fiddlers. In Boston, men and boys pulled the floats through the narrow streets. In the 1760s, Ebenezer Mackintosh led the South End parade. He marched ahead of the float. He wore a blue and gold uniform with a lace hat. He carried a speaking trumpet. This fancy uniform also made fun of Boston's wealthy people.
The "pope" effigy wore old, fancy clothes. It had a very large Roman nose. Behind him, the Devil effigy was covered in tar and feathers. It held a key in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. After 1701, the display also included an effigy of James Francis Edward Stuart. He was a Catholic prince in exile. Boys dressed as devils danced around the figures. This showed that New England Protestants believed Catholics were working with the devil. The pope effigy's fancy look was also symbolic. Dressed in "gorgeous attire" with a big white wig, it symbolized wealth.
During the parade, masked people would stop at wealthy homes. They would threaten to break windows. They did this unless the owners gave money for the festivities. Sometimes they broke windows just for fun. This happened even if the owner had given a lot of money. In Boston, there were usually two parades. One was from the North End and one from the South End. In 1766, there were three parades.
Historian Francis Cogliano notes that these anti-Catholic parades were like Carnival celebrations in Catholic Europe. Both gave common people a chance to act disorderly. They could also intimidate the wealthy.
The Battle Between Groups
By the mid-1700s, fighting was a normal part of Pope Night in Boston. When the North and South End parades met, they fought in the street. Each group tried to capture the other's pope. The fighters attacked each other with clubs and brickbats. This often led to serious injuries and sometimes even death.
The Bonfire
The place where the bonfire was lit changed each year. If the North End won the battle, the effigies were burned on Copp's Hill. If the South End won, the effigies were burned on Boston Common.
Besides the Devil, the Pope, and Guy Fawkes, effigies of important people were also burned. Sometimes the actress Nancy Dawson was included. Other times, a man dressed as her. Other people burned in effigy included Admiral John Byng and John Mein. Mein was a printer who supported the British. Governor Thomas Hutchinson and customs officials were also burned. Two British Prime Ministers were burned too. They were the Earl of Bute and Lord North. The American traitor General Benedict Arnold was also burned. People threw the bodies of the effigies into the fire. They saved the heads to use again the next year.
