December 1666 – Massachusetts Bay Colony Snow dusted the crooked roofs of Boston’s narrow streets, settling in the hollows of its Puritan heart. But beneath the weight of the colony’s strict laws, no garlands adorned the doorways, no merry songs filled the air. Christmas was forbidden here, deemed a Papist folly, an affront to holy order. Yet in the dim glow of a flickering candle, Henry Nicol worked, his calloused hands stitching a tiny green leather boot. Henry was a shoemaker, known for his steady craft but little wealth. His trade had declined in these hard years, and the fines