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Home , Xmas, Yule log

in the Medieval Ages

by Linda Laforge with some of her illustrations!

for the Great Northern Medieval Medieval Fayre a division of Crackers Productions Inc. www.MedievalFayre.com © 2010 Christmas in the Medieval Ages

Setting the Big Date ...... page 1 Before there was Christmas, there was ...... page 1 Why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th...... page 1

What Christmas was all about in the Medieval Ages ...... page 1 Why we give Christmas Gifts Today ...... page 2

Traditions of Many become One with Christmas? ...... page 2 Logs! ...... page 2 Why we put Christmas Trees in our Homes ...... page 2 Why we decorate our homes with evergreen, holly and to this day...... page 2 Eat some Humble Pie ...... page 3

Christmas Celebration by the Rich & Poor in Medieval Times page 3 Don’t get caught Mumming around ...... page 4 Candle, candle, burning brightly...... page 4 Santa Clause aka St. Nicolas and his li’l folk...... page 5 Medieval Christmas Cards? ...... page 5

More Resources ...... page 5 Setting the Big Date Until the fourth century, no fixed date had been formally set by the – in some places it was observed in April or May, in others in January and even in November. It was Pope Julius I who officially fixed the date at December 25th. We can guess why using the facts we know about medieval times. December 25th was close to a pagan holiday and the Christian church wanted to reform them. Before there was Christmas, there was... The The shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting is called the Winter Solstice. This happens on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans in the medieval ages, this meant that the winter was over and spring was coming. They had a festival to worship the sun for winning over the darkness of winter. I always find that a bit confusing, since winter is just beginning here in Canada! The Roman Festival of took place between December 17th and 23rd to honour their god Saturn. December 25th was the ‘birthday’ of the Pagan Sun god Mithra ‘the unconquered sun’. In the pagan religion of Mithraism, the holy day was Sunday. The early gave the festival a new meaning - to celebrate the birth of the Son of God ‘the unconquered Son’! What Christmas was all about in the Medieval Ages Why we give Christmas Gifts Today Christmas had been celebrated by early Christians on January 6th, when they also celebrated the (which means the revelation that was God’s son) and the Baptism of Jesus. Now the Epiphany mainly celebrates the visit of the three Wise Men to the baby Jesus. Back then they celebrated everything at this one time! Jesus’s Baptism was originally seen as more important than his birth, as this was when he started his ministry. People eventually wanted a separate day to celebrate his birth. The Epiphany, or , was much more popular and festive than Christmas in the early middle ages, and Adoration of the Shepherds, (c. 1500–10), by Italian was a time for the bestowal of gifts in the tradition of the three painter Giorgio da Castelfranco Wise Men. This is why we give gifts at Christmas today! The 25th March was a sacred day to the pagans, when they celebrated the coming of spring and new life. Early Christian tradition also said that this was the day when Mary was told that she would have a very special baby, Jesus. This is called the and is still celebrated by Christians on the 25th March. Nine months after the 25th March is the 25th December. Most of the world uses the ‘Gregorian Calendar’ started by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Before that the ‘Roman’ or Julian Calendar was used (named after Julius Caesar). The Gregorian calendar is more accurate than the Roman calendar. The Roman calendar has too many days in a year! When the switch was made 10 days were lost.

Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 1 Many Orthodox and Coptic Churches still use the Julian Calendar and so celebrate Christmas on the 7th January. The Armenian Church celebrates it on the 6th January! In some parts of the UK, January 6th is called ‘Old Christmas’ as it would have been the day that Christmas would have been celebrated on, if the calendar hadn’t been changed. Some people didn’t want to use the new calendar. They thought it ‘cheated’ them out of 10 days!

In time, Christmas grew in popularity – and as it did so, many of the Pagan traditions associated with the winter solstice became associated with Christmas as well. New customs particular to the Christian holiday also arose. Traditions of Many become one with Christmas? This custom comes from many different cultures. Burning the Yule Log is one of the Pagan traditions that became part of Christmas. It’s the “wheel” of the year. The Druids would bless a log and keep it burning for 12 days during the winter solstice. Part of the log was kept to light the new yule log the following year. The yule log was an integral part of a Vikings celebration of the solstice, the Julfest. They carved runes into the log representing unwanted traits, like poor honour or poverty, things they wanted the gods to take from them. These days we make little cakes that look like Yule logs and eat them! Why we put Christmas Trees in our Homes The tree was an important symbol to every Pagan culture. The oak in particular was venerated by the Druids. The Vikings hung fir and ash trees with war trophies for good luck. Evergreens were thought to have special powers and were used for decoration, symbolizing the promised return of life in the spring. They came to represent eternal life for Christians. Why we decorate our homes with evergreen, holly and mistletoe to this day In the middle ages, the Church would decorate trees with apples on , which they called “Adam and Eve Day.” Trees remained outdoors back then. In sixteenth-century Germany, they decorated fir trees with paper flowers and carried them through the streets to the town square on Christmas Eve . After a great feast and celebration that included dancing around the tree, it would be burned ceremonially. People eventually began putting evergreen trees in their homes as they also never lost their colour or ‘life’ in winter. They thought this protected them from bad spirits throughout the cold winter months. Illustrated by Linda Laforge

Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 2 Holly, ivy, and mistletoe were important plants to the Druids. They believed that good spirits lived in the branches of holly. They wrapped them along doorways, windows and any entrance into their homes to protect from bad spirits. Christians believed that the berries had been white before they were turned red by ’s blood when he was made to wear the crown of thorns. Ivy was associated with the Roman god Bacchus. Ivy was not allowed by the Church as decoration until later in the middle ages, until they discovered that it could recognize witches and protect against plague. Yeah, right! We still decorate our homes, inside and out, with evergreen and red berries. It still looks pretty nice!

Eat some Humble Pie Humble (or ‘umble) pie was made from the “humbles” of a deer. Sounds cute, but it’s really pretty yucky. They used the heart, liver, brains and so forth of the deer. The lords and ladies got the choice cuts, so the servants baked the unwanted humbles into a pie. One had to eat what one could find in the medieval ages! This appears to be the origin of the phrase, “to eat humble pie.” By the seventeenth century Humble Pie had become a trademark Christmas food. The of Victorian and modern times evolved from the medieval dish of frumenty -- a spicy, wheat-based dessert. Many other desserts were made as welcome treats for children and adults alike. Yum!

Christmas Celebration by the Rich and the Poor in Medieval Times What was medieval Christmas actually like? It was the longest holiday of the year. Depending on your social class, you experienced cruelties as well as privileges. Poorer people were sometimes let off work and may have been treated to in their landlord’s great hall. (But not very likely...) Some Manors gave Christmas treats. A loaf of bread was used to play a traditional Christmas game. A bean was hidden in the bread. The person who found it was king of the feast. This turned into a tradition of hiding pennies in Christmas puddings to symbolize coming riches. If you were part of a knight’s household, or a member of a royal family, you’d be fed a feast and gifted jewels and robes. In 1482, King Edward IV offered a Christmas celebration bigger than any other. He brought in merchants to bring jewels and gifts to give to his people. He fed over two thousand people a day! Edward’s brother, Richard III sold items from the Royal household, and used items from the treasury for loans to pay a staggering 1,200 pounds on new clothes and gifts for the court.

Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 3 Records state that in 1249 King Henry III received ‘the first gifts which the people are accustomed superstitiously to call New Year’s gifts’ from London citizens. These gifts were seen as omens of success for the coming year. ‘First footing’ was the belief that the first person to set foot in your home determined your family’s fortunes for the coming year.

On , rich lords often gave their tenants a small gift, containing a moral lesson. The poor were given money from their masters in hollow clay pots with a slit in the top. You had to break them to get the money out. These ‘piggies’ were the earliest version of piggy banks. since they were given to peasants and slaves, they were more likely to bust them open rather than to save any money.

Don’t get caught Mumming around Mumming was an ancient pagan custom. It means ‘making diversion in disguise’. Men and women would swap clothes, put on masks and go visiting their neighbours, singing, dancing or putting on a play. The custom of Mumming might go back to Roman times, when people used to dress up for parties at New Year.

In Medieval times it turned into an excuse for people to go begging and committing crimes. Henry VIII, made a law saying that anyone who went mumming wearing a mask would be put in prison for 3 months! Today Mumming is still celebrated in NewFoundland!

Candle, candle, burning brightly... Candles were used during ancient winter solstice celebrations to remember that spring would soon return. One of the earliest records of candles being used at Christmas from the middle ages is where a large candle was used to represent the star of . Jesus is sometimes called ‘the Light of the World’ by Christians. This might have started the custom of the Crown and Advent Candles. Candles have been used throughout the ages during many different celebrations. Candles are important to the Jewish Hanukkah celebration, and the Festival of Light which is also celebrated in winter. During the eight nights of Hanukkah, a candle is lit in a special menorah (candelabra) called a Illustrated by Linda Laforge ‘hanukkiyah’. Candles are used in the modern winter festival Kwanzaa, where a special candle holder called a kinara, that holds seven candles is used. Christians often hold Candlelight Services, where the church is only lit by candles. Candles were once used to decorate Christmas Trees, until safer electric lights were invented! Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 4 Santa Clause aka St. Nicolas and his li’l folk Santa & Black Pete by Linda Laforge He was originally known as Saint Nicolas, or . He was also called ,, or Pere Noel. was Bishop of , in modern day Turkey, during the 4th century. He was famous to the Dutch and Germans. When they migrated to America, they had strong accents and pronounced his name in a way that sounded similar to Santa Clause. Others heard them and thought they were saying “Santa Clause’. That’s how he became very popular by this name. St. Nicolas was known for his incredible kindness and generosity. Stories of this travelled all around Medieval Europe, making him famous for his gift giving. Celtic people had little people in their lore, where it’s believed Santa’s elves originated from. Most people love to hear how he had magical elves do his bidding. It is a little know fact, but before there were Elves, there was Black Pete! It’s described and illustrated here, on my website: Click Here

Medieval Christmas Cards??? Should you come across anything stating it’s a Medieval Chrsitmas Card, it’s not true! Although wood engravers did make prints with religious themes in the European Middle Ages, the first commercial Christmas and New Year’s card is believed to have been designed and printed in London, in 1843.

More Resources Christmas Carols I found this great article on Christmas carols explaining their true origins, and how they were sung in Medieval times. I couldn’t have written it better, so I’m just sharing it here. Click here!

Everything about Christmas You can Always Count on Wikipedia! Italian, 16th century, Illumination of “Conditor alme siderum”, a Renaissance period hymn composed by Costanzo Festa (Italian, c. 1480-1545)

Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 5 Colouring Pages

Illustrations by Linda Laforge

Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 6 Colouring Pages Decorate your tree like they

Holly did in the Medieval Ages! Colour in these Christmas flowers, cut them out and put them in your tree. You can print out more, colour and cut them out, sign the back and give them to friends and family too!

Poinsettia

Illustrations by Linda Laforge Mistletoe Christmas in the Medieval Ages page 7