The Puritan movement grew. About 5% of the Protestants were
Puritans. These included country gentlemen and wealthier traders.
They dressed simply in gray or other drab colors and wore their
hair short to protest the fashion of long curls. They lived simply
and disapproved of dancing because it induced lasciviousness and
of theater because of its lewdness. Theaters and brothels still
shared the same neighborhoods, the same customers, and sometimes
the same employees. Prostitutes went to plays to find customers;
men shouldered and shoved each other in competing to sit next to
attractive women to get to know them. The Puritans also
disapproved of cock fights because they led to gambling and
disorder, and Maypole celebrations because of their paganism.
There was less humor. Many became stoics. The Puritan church
ceremonies were plain, with no ornamentation. Puritans prayed
several times a day and read the Bible to each other in family
groups to look for guidance in their conduct and life. They asked
for God to intervene in personal matters and looked for signs of
his pleasure or displeasure in happenings such as a tree falling
close but not touching him, or his horse throwing him without
injury to him. When there was an illness in the family or
misfortune, they examined their past life for sins and tried to
correct shortcomings. They circulated records of puritan lives
including spiritual diaries.
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