Have Yourself a Medieval Christmas – Part 2: Entertainment
In our previous article we mentioned that unless you were rich or had a generous master, feasting wasn’t going to be the highlight of your medieval Christmas.
In some places some pagan tradition of electing a lowly person to take the place of someone with power hadn’t quite fallen out of favour. Known as inversion, it could be a boy replacing a bishop for the Feast of the Holy Innocents on 28 December, or a peasant becoming Lord of Misrule at the court or manor house.
Perhaps you could consider canvassing locals for votes with promises of special favours if you are elected to the council, or even the government, just for Christmas. Think of the fun you could have overturning Brexit or quarantining everyone who has really irritated you in 2021. You might even be able to get your house completely redecorated before the new year.
We talked before about charitable giving but unfortunately it didn’t just work one way. In true medieval style, the local monastery or “big house” might demand that you give up a rabbit or two as. a kind of tithe. Not sure that would go down so well with the kids if their beloved bunny had to be handed over to the Lord of the Manor on Christmas Eve.
But don’t be despondent – historical sources highlight the various big party days. More commonly known as holy days, they were opportunities to celebrate St. Stephen’s Day (26 December), St. John the Evangelist’s Day (27 December), Holy Innocents’ Day (28 December), St Thomas a Becket’s Day (29 December), and ended on Twelfth Night, or Epiphany (6 January). Makes Christmas Day and Boxing Day in present times look a bit sparse.
Considered holidays, these could be a chance to get hammered, eat treats (sorry, they are unlikely to contain sugar yet), sing hymns to your heart’s content and impress your neighbours with your home-made decorations.
It might be worth mentioning here that the mince pies we consider a treat nowadays were a suet pie made from a variety of meats and known as Christmas pie. It was usually oval in shape, like a crib, with a little pastry baby Jesus on top.
So how exactly do we suggest you really get into this medieval Christmas?
You will want to hang decorations. No electricity of course and no plastics… but it’s amazing what you can do with a pine cone and some winter berries.
Better-off medieval people decorated their homes with greenery such as holly, ivy and mistletoe. Holly was thought to bring good luck and to protect your home from lightning and witches. You can never be too careful, so try to include some when you are getting the pace spruced up for this special medieval Christmas
Don’t forget the mistletoe which has always been good for flirting under since pagan times. If anyone objects, tell them it has healing powers. Maybe it could even keep covid away… who knows?
If you are enjoying medieval ale or mead, or perhaps you fancy a good old Wassail Bowl, you are likely to be in the kind of mood for singing, dancing, and playing games, so invite the local Mummers around for a traditional knees-up, generally on the theme of Death and Rebirth. There certainly won’t be any telly for you this year.
So have I sold it to you yet? Who is going for a medieval Christmas, then?
Just as an extra little incentive, we are including a recipe for a good old traditional Wassail. We think it would be reasonable to make a slight concession and add a bottle of vodka or gin to the recipe, and we guarantee that after a few glugs of that you might not care which century you are in anyway.
Christmas Wassail
Ingredients:
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/3 pint of apple juice
1/6 tsp of ground nutmeg
¼ tsp of ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
28g/1oz sugar
500ml/1 pint ale
1 tsp honey
- Simmer the apple juice, lemon juice and zest, spices and sugar in a pan, until the sugar has dissolved but ensuring the liquid does not boil.
- Add the ale and honey and then heat through, taking care not to boil the wassail.
- Serve warm with lemon slices floating on top.
Recipe makes 1½ pints or 6 small glasses
