(Cover image – © Fortunino Matania – The Bridgeman Art Library)
Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, 'Tis the season to be jolly. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Christmas time is an integral part of the year for millions across the globe and various cultures and religions for a variety of different reasons. Some treat Christmas as a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by visiting church or participating in religious traditions, such as in the Christian faith, whilst others might see Christmas as a time to spend quality time with one’s family and spoil them with gifts and some, and the percentage of this group rises more and more with people caring less about receiving gifts or even celebrating Christmas, do not even view Christmas a holiday but just another day.
The point is—Christmas has existed for a very long time, long before it was even known by such a name, since pagan times, perhaps even before then! And most attribute the ‘birth’ of Christmas to being more ‘recent’ to around the 15th/16th century and they would be very wrong to do so—so, let us briefly explore the rich history of Christmas according as well as take a look at how other cultures celebrate Christmas.
History behind the festive Christmas holiday
Believe it or not, the actual birth of Christmas cannot be accurately pinpointed throughout time, mostly because different cultures throughout history celebrated Christmas in different ways whilst the earliest foundations of society might not have viewed this time of year as a holiday but more like realising how surviving the rough winter that made hunting for food and facing the harsh colds became all the more difficult. Luckily, historians have been able to trace early celebrations of Christmas all the way back to Neolithic, otherwise known as the ‘New Stone Age’.
Now, back then, mankind was not able to purchase some of the high-quality, expensive luxuries that we all take for granted in today’s society but that did not mean that Christmas, or the ‘midwinter solstice’ as it was known then and still is today, was not an important time of the year for them. For the people behind the making of the glorious landmark Stonehenge, November 21st was the shortest day of the year and therefore marked a very special sight as on this day, the tallest of the stones would line up with the sunrise and therefore the sun is almost hidden behind the stones. And on this night, the people of Stonehenge would hold magnificent feasts where masses of meat such as pork and beef accompanied with fermented milk and cheese and served with barley beer or mead made from honey (a very popular drink in ancient times). These feasts would last for hours on end and would begin with the bestowing of gifts upon each guest; some of the most treasured of presents would have included jewellery like gold necklaces, hair decorations and buttons for the women whilst the men showered one another with the latest new weapons such as daggers or bronze-tipped spears in the new age as flint and stone were now considered ‘outmoded’. The air would be filled with laughter and the beautiful melodies produced from bone flutes and the voices of all those present, some guests would even jump over bonfires as to honour the sun, as they personified ‘Him’ and asked him to make the days longer so that they might bask in his presence once more.
Soon after came the Romans and similar to the people at Stonehenge, they celebrated the winter solstice/midwinter with an annual ‘week’ of festivities called Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a festival that lasted at least five days in a roll where people feasted and partied to their hearts content in order to honour the ‘King’ of the Roman gods, Saturn (otherwise known as Odin in Norse mythology or Cronus in Greek mythology). It was a time where all social rules were thrown out the window; rank did not matter as the rich could mix with the poor and etiquette was overturned, meaning that many people misbehaved quite severely, if they got too carried away. Some examples of the ‘norm’ being overturned included slaves being served meals by their masters or the law against gambling with dice was permitted during the festival, so that people could enjoy themselves as if they themselves were gods. Rather bizarre to have a law forbidding gambling with dice but allow some very cruel actions to go along unpunished. Everyone during Saturnalia wore a ‘pileus’, which was a pointed so-called ‘cap of liberty’ to symbolise the liberties that were awarded to the people during the festivities instead of the white togas or dresses typically adorned during parties.
Feasts were beautifully displays of delicious food; from figs, dates, eggs and pine-nuts to weird food choices such as snails, fattened-up dormice (a mouse-like rodent with a bushy tail), and garum which was a overpowering sauce made from fermented fish. Following public feasts, many would continue to celebrate back at home and would exchange small gifts like little figures or ornaments made of wax or pottery, some would have songs or poems written in their guests’ honour and the jokesters would often do satirical presents, there is even a story about a man who offered to allow his brother to spend the night with his wife after hearing unsatisfactory reviews about his performance from other women. Ouch, I don’t know who to feel sorry for; the wife for being treated like a possession or the brother for being mocked for his sexual prowess. Which one is worse, I have no clue.
Anyway… closely following the Romans came my second favourite era (following the Tudors, of course), the Vikings. For the Vikings, Christmas was known as ‘Yule’ (pronounced Jul in Norway) or the Midwinter Solstice (the longest night of the year yet also the shortest daylight). During the time of the Vikings (and Norse mythology), they believed in Odin who was the father of all gods (the Allfather). And during this time of the year, he would ride across the sky and visit Vikings in their homes to bless them with his favour. As a result, children would leave their shoes by the hearth (fire) on Christmas Eve filled with sugar and hay for Odin’s eight-legged horse, Slephnir (a very similar name to Rudolph, right, except for the red-nose—suppose the Vikings didn’t have much care for glowing noses). Additionally, during the Yule festivities and as per the Viking ways, people would hold banquets, feasts and drink all night along whilst others would sing, play games and of course, the traditional sacrifice to the gods would be held in honour of the gods.
But that’s not all—did you know that mistletoe has its importance to us today because of the Vikings? In their mythology, the great god of light and favourite son of Odin, Baldur, was accordingly slain by an arrow laced with mistletoe but was swiftly resurrected by his mother’s tears which had turned the berries of the mistletoe to red. It has since thus represented resurrection and hope for the end of winter in Nordic culture—whilst we Europeans hold it as a symbol of chance and hope for finding love and happiness by kissing under it. To be honest, I like the Nordic interpretation more.
ANYWAY… the Vikings also had a Yule tree (the inspiration for the later Christmas tree) which was decorated with runes and statues of their Norse gods alongside food and clothes offered as gifts for the ‘spirit of the forests’. Then they would set fire to a wreath that was thrown down a hill as their prayers for the ‘return of the Sun’. As you have probably already guessed, a lot of cultures mimic one another. Nowadays, we just place a wreath on our doors, with no actual meaning behind it.
Without going into too much depth, the Vikings also had the following traditions; the Yule goat that was connected to the worship of Thor and was thus sacrificed in his honour; the Yule log was a long oak tree that had runes craved into it as wishes for protection from the gods and burned with the superstition of if it went out, the gods did not bestow their favour upon you; someone dressed up as ‘old man winter’ (a man with a white beard wearing a hooded fur coat) to represent Odin who would travel throughout the community to join in various celebrations as if the God himself was there—this would later inspire the tradition of people dressing up as Father Christmas. And last but certainly not least, the Vikings believed that the beautiful, famous Northern Lights were said to symbolise Bifrost, which was the bridge between Åsgard (the world of the Gods) and Midgard (the land of the living). See a pattern here?
Sadly, Christianity reached Europe during the time that the Vikings still believed in their pagan (Norse) mythology and therefore their slightly less gruesome traditions were mixed with the traditions of the Christians, hence why Yule has now become Christmas (celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ).
Speaking of Christianity, shall we move onto that?
The Medieval Age—oh, what a time to be alive, right? Nope.
It is said that the origin of the ‘twelve days of Christmas’ hails from this period in history where people really hit home with celebrations over these twelve days with the big ‘bang’ happening on January 6th (the ‘Twelfth Night’) where everyone would exchange gifts. These celebrations were commemorated in honour of Christ’s birth and it is here that the first usage of the term ‘Christmas’ was first recorded in England in 1038, with the term meaning ‘Christ’s Mass’. Some of the ancient traditions mentioned beforehand such as servants being served by their masters or the midwinter feast of Yule were incorporated into these festivities. An example of this would be the Yule Log that was kept burning throughout the season or people eating boar’s heads that were richly decorated with edible decorations or even jewels! What a weird thing to decorate a dead animal’s head with!
The Medieval Age also brought a wave of new odd customs such as the Lord of Misrule who was in charge of directing all ‘boisterous festivities’ and declaring which games would be played—all of which could be very rough and result in injury. These included a ‘tame’ game, if one exists, called ‘Hot Cockles’—this is where blindfolded victims had to guess who had slapped them on/from behind; if they guessed correctly, the slapper became the victim but if it was incorrect, they would continue to get slapped until they identified the slapper correctly. Okay, condoning assault is not always the best thing to promote, just saying.
Monarchs during the Medieval Age would hold feasts and law-givings where they would attend wearing their royal crowns (known as ‘Christmas crown-wearings) as if they were a God-like figure similar to Christ. One such King, Henry II, who was responsible for building the Great Tower at Dover Castle, is famous for having held these events at 24 different venues throughout his 34-year reign. Jesus, did he have to go to different places every couple of years or did he just like to show off his crown?
Little known fact—did you know that Christ wasn’t actually born during Christmas? By our current reckoning, the birth of Christ was actually in the Summer but was drawn up by Dionysius, an ‘innumerate’ Italian monk from the 6th century, to coincide with the Roman Festival during this season. So, are we even technically celebrating the birth of Christ?
Subsequently—until the 4th century, Christmas throughout Europe was celebrated anywhere between early January all the way to late September. Pope Julius I came up with the brilliant idea of adopting December 25th as the actual date for the Nativity—this idea was very logical as it meant that any festivities or merrymaking could now be attributed to Christmas or the birth of Christ rather than any pagan rituals as it had been done previously. Keeping the spirit of Christianity alive, well done!
Well—that’s the history of Christmas pre-Tudors done, now, let us get to the bit we’ve all been waiting for—how did the Tudors celebrate Christmas and how does it differ from our modern celebrations?
The Tudors – How did they celebrate Christmas?
It may no longer surprise you to know, following all the other cultures that inspired some of our modern Christmas traditions, that the Tudors shared a lot of the same traditions that we all hold close to our hearts today. Things we do at Christmas time; cooking a turkey, kissing under the mistletoe, singing Christmas carols and so on and so forth—the Tudors did also!
Especially since that they did have the 12 days of Christmas like we do—except they actually did things throughout those 12 days, rather than us just singing the 12 Days of Christmas song or preparing to buy everyone you loved gifts that showed them how much money you were willing to spend on them or how much you loved them.
And now, without further ado—the 12 days of Christmas in the Tudor era… The Tudors called (and it is still known as this to this day) the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day on 25th December as Advent where most people would participate in fasting (where they would not eat a vast variety of different foods and would eat very minimal and plain foods) during and up to Christmas Eve on 24th December. Examples of forbidden foods during fasting included cheese, eggs or meat as these were considered ‘rich’ foods and people were only permitted to consume food that gave them subsistence. From then on, the celebrations would begin and would last for 12 days from December 25th to January 6th. As it is for us today, the Tudors believed that Christmas was a time for everyone within communities to come together, where neighbours, tenants and families would visit one another and spread the Christmas spirit. In fact, Christmas time was viewed in such importance by the Tudors that it was a time where work within businesses or farms was halted for the workers to rest, women stopped spinning or crafting to spend time with their husbands to the point where flowers would be placed upon spinning wheels or utensils to prevent the women from working.
Three of the biggest Tudor celebrations were held on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Epiphany (or Twelfth Night) on January 6th which held celebrations in honour of the arrival of the three Kings/three wise men in the tale of the birth of Jesus Christ. But today, we’re going to focus on talking about the celebrations held on Christmas Day—but make sure to look out for our New Year’s Day post on January 1st by subscribing!
A lot of different elements went into making Christmas Day a special and glorious day for the Tudors; one important aspect was the choosing of the Christmas log or the Yule log (which in modern times, we make into beautiful cakes which take on the form of a log, usually decorated with brown decorations such as sprinkles or chocolate). In the Tudor era, most families would embark on a journey to the nearest woods on Christmas Eve to select a log which they would take home to adorn in delicate ribbons and later set ablaze to last for the 12 days of Christmas. If a charred piece of the log remained at the end, it was considered a sign of good luck from God and the family would ensure this piece was kept safe to be used again for the next year along with their new log.
Naturally, Christmas Day was also a day of being close to God and praying; long masses of massive proportion would be held and items of religious significance would be hung before the burning of candles symbolised the time for everyone to return home to enjoy a hearty meal such as boar’s head or our classic mince pies or roast turkey.
Interestingly, mince pyes, as the Tudors spelt it, were originally filled with rich meat and 11 other assorted fillings to symbolise Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles. Whilst we have our roast turkey as the centrepiece of our Christmas dinners, the Tudors had their Christmas pie which was not for the faint of heart. As it consisted of a ‘turkey stuffed with a goose, which was stuffed with chicken, which was stuffed with partridge, which was stuffed with a pigeon—all baked inside a pastry ‘coffin’. [Source – History.com]
Sounds delicious right?
Nope, hard pass for me!
Notably, Christmas trees were not a tradition for the Tudors as they would decorate their homes with mistletoe, holly, ivy, yew—carols were sung heartfully and gifts were exchanged by all those involved. Quick tip—if you’re ever in Kent, make sure to visit the stunning childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Hever Castle, during the Christmas period as they hold an annual Christmas event where they decorate the whole castle with log fires, twinkling trees and the gardens are illuminated with outdoor lighting and sometimes fake snow (as the UK weather is not always as picturesque as one would hope during winter).
Other traditions for the Tudors include wassailing (where people travelled from house to house singing Christmas carols and would pass around the communal wassail bowl which was filled with warm ale/wine/cider mixed with spices and honey) and also, the ‘kissing bough’. Probably most of you have never heard of this and are like ‘what the hell is she on about?’, well… The Kissing Bough, likely origin is 16th century Germany and something that only became more widespread until around 3 centuries later, is not as well known or commonly done by the Tudors but kissing boughs were woven wooden hoops hung with evergreens (such as holly or bay leaves) and suspended from the ceiling with mistletoe to accompany it. Of course, this has since been solely replaced with just the hanging of mistletoe but the Tudors treated it in the same way—where couples would kiss underneath it for prayers of prosperous love and a future of children, as mistletoe had associations with fertility that dated back to the ancient Greeks. It is said that Henry VIII kissed at least three of his wives including Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard under mistletoe as he was a very superstitious man and hoped that this kiss would strengthen his chances for male offspring.
Highly unlikely chance of that happening just because you kissed under mistletoe, right? Don’t your biological factors have more of an impact or your sexual ability?
But before we sign off from this post, a quick little note—despite there not needing to be a lot of depictions of Tudor Christmas, there are a few examples of what a Tudor Christmas might have looked like. The Tudors, in my opinion, did a very well-rounded and in-depth depiction of Tudor Christmas, especially in terms of what they ate during this time and the importance of giving gifts. I really liked the scene in ‘Dissension and Punishment’ (season 3, episode 3) where Jane Seymour invites Elizabeth Tudor to spend Christmas with the rest of her family, despite the fact that Henry sent her away because she reminded him of her mother. It shows how people truly showed how much they cared during this time of the year—there is a lot of contrasting opinions surrounding Jane’s character and whether she was as innocent as she is made out to be but you have to admit—she truly did care for Elizabeth and Mary’s happiness and the show makes sure to highlight this in the Christmas episode.
And that’s it for this post, hopefully you enjoyed it and make sure to comment down below if any of these facts surprised you or if there’s anything you want us to focus on for next year’s Christmas post!
But for now…
- Have a ‘Tudor-fic’ week!
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