One of the favorite leisure activities of the Puritans was reading. One of the biggest fears they had when they came to the New World was the fear that they would completely lose touch with English culture, and they tried to avoid this by keeping up with English literature as much as they possibly could. Despite the distance, they actually managed to keep getting supplies of books from England - the Winthrop expedition, that founded Massachusetts Bay Colony, brought, along with their supplies of grains, meat and other food, a collection of books

By 1780, almost all the Puritan men and 80 percent of Puritan women had been taught to read, so they all enjoyed reading as a form of entertainment. As you can probably imagine, the Bible always remained a favorite book in Puritan colonies, and they preferred the Geneva Bible of 1560 to any other published version, because it contained maps, glossaries of names and events, and explanations of all the passages. One of the most common “family activities” was one member of the family reading Bible passages aloud, usually in the evening after finishing a meal. Men and women who were dating would also hold reading parties, where other couples would come over and they would all take turns reading to each other.

Another popular form of recreation among the Puritans was cardplaying. Women seldom played cards, as competition was considered against their nature, but many of the men thought that it was the perfect game. It was thought of as ideal for the Puritans because it fit so many of the Puritan ideals - it was quiet, could not be easily played in a rowdy atmosphere or under the influence of alcohol, required skills of logic and arithmetic, and did not require any kind of betting to be played. The most popular cardgames were called Whist - which means silence - and Quadri

Some topics in this essay:
Geneva Bible, , Bay Colony, England Winthrop, quilting spinning, quilting spinning sewing, usually quilting spinning, parties usually, usually quilting, spinning sewing, favorite activity,