<P> Besides the Bible, children needed to read to "understand...the capital laws of this country," as the Massachusetts code declared, order being of the utmost importance, and children not taught to read would grow "barbarous" (the 1648 amendment to the Massachusetts law and the 1650 Connecticut code both used the word "barbarisme"). By the 1670s, all New England colonies except Rhode Island had passed legislation that mandated literacy for children . In 1647, Massachusetts passed a law that required towns to hire a schoolmaster to teach writing . </P> <P> Forms of schooling ranged from dame schools to "Latin" schools for boys already literate in English and ready to master preparatory grammar for Latin, Hebrew, and Greek . Reading schools were often the single source of education for girls, whereas boys would go to the town grammar schools . Gender largely determined educational practices; women introduced all children to reading, and men taught boys in higher pursuits . Latin grammar schools did not accept girls (nor did Harvard), since grammar schools were designed to "instruct youth so far as they may be fited for the university," and girls could play no role in the ministry . Most evidence suggests that girls could not attend the less ambitious town schools, the lower - tier writing - reading schools mandated for townships of over 50 families . </P> <P> In New England, the Puritans believed the Puritan controlled governments were obliged to support their own church, and expected the church to influence politics and social life . The Plymouth Colony Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas celebrations, as did some other Protestant churches of the time . Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 . The ban was revoked in 1681 by the English - appointed governor Edmund Andros, who also revoked a Puritan ban on festivities on Saturday nights . Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became more widely fashionable in the Boston region . Likewise, the colonies banned many secular entertainments on moral grounds, such as drama, dancing, card playing and gambling . </P> <P> They were not, however, opposed to drinking alcohol in moderation . Early New England laws banning the sale of alcohol to Native Americans were criticised because it was "not fit to deprive Indians of any lawfull comfort aloweth to all men by the use of wine ." Laws banned the practice of individuals toasting each other, with the explanation that it led to wasting God's gift of beer and wine, as well as being carnal . Bounds were not set on enjoying sexuality within the bounds of marriage, as a gift from God . Spouses were disciplined if they did not perform their sexual marital duties, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 7 and other biblical passages . Women and men were equally expected to fulfill marital responsibilities . Women and men could file for divorce based on this issue alone . In Massachusetts colony, which had some of the most liberal colonial divorce laws, one out of every six divorce petitions was filed on the basis on male impotence . Puritans publicly punished drunkenness and sexual relations outside marriage . Couples who had sex during their engagement were fined and publicly humiliated . Men, and a handful of women, who engaged in homosexual behavior, were seen as especially sinful, with some executed . </P>

Who are the puritans and why are they important