Christmas Peace in New Hampshire and Finland

Here is the text to the Declaration of Christmas Peace read in Turku today:

The Declaration of Christmas Peace

The Christmas City parchment roll
Tomorrow, God willing,
is the graceful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour;

and thus is declared a peaceful Christmas time to all, by advising devotion and to behave otherwise quietly and peacefully,

because he who breaks this peace and violates the peace of Christmas by any illegal or improper behaviour shall under aggravating circumstances be guilty and punished according to what the law and statutes prescribe for each and every offence separately.

Finally, a joyous Christmas feast is wished to all inhabitants of the city.

The injunction against illegal and improper behavior reminds me of the editorial in today's Concord Monitor.

In 19th Century New Hampshire, Christmas was so rowdy that the legislature enacted a law prohibiting: "firing guns, beating drums, playing ball in the street, galloping on horseback and, most urgently, throwing clubs at tame fowl. Slaves and other servants were prohibited from playing games that might "lead to unlawful pursuit of money."