The Traditions of Christmas

Many traditions of the 16th century associated with Christmas and which are still linked today were adopted and adapted by the Christian Church from the pagan Roman and Germanic midwinter celebrations. These festivals were so deep-rooted that, wisely, the Church decided not to try and stamp them out among its new, or potential converts, but to weave them into its own calendar.

16th Century

In the Church the period of Christmas runs from the beginning of Advent (4th Sunday before Christmas) to Candlemas, or the Feast of Purification (2nd Feb), when Mary was welcomed back into the church after her pregnancy. It is also the time when the church candles were blessed for the year.

Advent was a time of fasting, and spiritual as well as physical preparation for the Christmas festival. Physical preparations might include singling out a yule log, and good places to gather evergreens on Christmas Eve. Much emphasis was placed on the Twelve Days of Christmas that ran from 24th Dec - 6th Jan, and represented the country's main public holiday.

Decorations

The pagans brought in evergreen branches to symbolise fertility and the return of life and light to the earth in the coming spring. Holly berries were a symbol of eternal life for the Romans, and in Norse myth it was a mistletoe dart that killed the sun god, Baldur. In the 16th century these beliefs were lingering but now had Christian associations too. The holly (holme) leaves symbolised the crown of thorns on Christ's head at his crucifixion, and the berries represented Christ's blood.

Ivy was the clinging 'female' partner of the 'male' holly. Mistletoe had such strong associations with druid magic that it was banned in churches. The Kissing Bunch - two bisecting hoops - were decorated with holly, ivy, apples, ribbons, oranges, nuts and mistletoe and hung from the ceiling. All these decorations were hung on Christmas Eve. It was bad luck to do so before, and also to take them down before or beyond Twelfth Night (6th Jan).

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Although the whole Twelve Days of Christmas were supposed to be one long celebration, special attention was given to Twelfth Night itself. The Yule Log represented the eternal light of Christ's goodness and was lit using a remnant from last year's log, as a symbol of eternity, and was kept alight throughout the period.

The entertainments for the Twelve Days of Christmas (or at least Twelfth Night) in wealthy households, or for the parish as a whole, were presided over and sometimes organised by the Lord and Lady of Misrule. They presided over the fun and games, gave out forfeits and were afforded the respect of a real Lord and Lady.

Presents between tenants and landlords were common, with the tenant keeping his landlord sweet with a capon (fattened cock bird). Boxing Day was when apprentices and servants broke open their Christmas Boxes, which were earthenware piggy-bank type pots with a slit in the top. The rich and powerful were obliged to give handsome presents to the Sovereign, which were often gifts of money, and at a set tariff! Elizabeth I set the trend for giving personal presents too. There is unlikely to have been much present giving among the poor but giving food to the needy was common.

Going to church was part of the celebration and very important on Christmas Day.

Feasting

The feasts held at court and in the larger houses were very sumptuous and consisted of many types of meat e.g. goose, capon, pheasant, heron, crane, bittern, woodcock, snipe, peacock and swan. Boar's head garlanded with bay and rosemary with an orange, lemon or apple in its mouth was a favourite.

Frumenty, a wheaten porridge with dried fruit and spices was especially popular on Christmas morning. Children often went 'Thomasing' (begging from door to door) on the feast of St Thomas (21st December) for wheat to make frumenty or for flour for the Christmas or Yule loaf. White bread was a favourite and migbt be given by the master to his tenants.

'Plum' porridge or pottage was thick soup of beef, raisins, currants and bread and may have later developed into plum pudding. In the 16th century plum could mean prunes, raisins or currants. Minced pies had real minced meat in them - with fruit.

Drinking Wassailing (waes-heal = good health) apple trees by placing straw around their roots (to symbolise a good harvest), putting hot cider-soaked bread in their branches for the Robin (spirit of the trees), brandishing torches, and making lots of noise to drive away evil spirits was thought to ensure a good crop the following year and was still popular in Tudor times.