in Sawtry in Medieval Times Part One

The Peasant Christmas

Christmas was one of the highlights of the medieval calendar, not only for the rich but also for the peasantry. The name Christmas, as I am sure is well known, was derived from the term “Christ Masses” and Christmas in medieval England was not only a time to truly observe the religious significance of Christ’s birth but it was also a time to give thanks, a coming together of families to observe that event and a celebration of hearth and home. For the ordinary peasant it was a respite from the agricultural toil of providing food for the masters, a time to energise the people in the darkest time of winter by having this huge feast and celebration to look forward to. For the longest holiday of the year, typically the full , people stopped work, homes were decorated and a Log burned in the hearth. Gifts were exchanged, colourful church services enjoyed and merry feasts were eaten by all where there was better food and more of it than at any other time in the year.

But how would the ordinary villagers of Sawtry have celebrated Christmas in medieval times. Well of course the Church would have been the centre of the religious celebrations as it was always the centre of the community.

A peasant’s Christmas was obviously rather less grand than that enjoyed in the local manor (or castle) and, for them, the season did not start well. Serfs, already subjected to all manner of odd fees and taxes over the year, were expected to give a ‘gift’ to their lord at Christmas of extra bread, eggs and perhaps even a valuable rooster or a couple of hens. In contrast, free labourers on the estate, especially the more important ones such as the estate’s shepherd, swineherd and oxherd, received presents from the lord, typically a bonus of food, drink, clothes and firewood. It is a tradition which continued into later centuries when household servants received a box of gifts on the 26th of December, hence the name of that day in Britain, . In earlier times these gifts were not in boxes but pennies in a clay pot which they would have to break open. These clay pots were known as “Piggies” due to their shape and the colour of the clay, which is where our “Piggy Banks” came from.

Peasants would have decorated their homes much as aristocrats did, with greenery & garlands such as being readily available for those who searched for it. Villagers in Sawtry, as in the surrounding villages, would have attended Church many times during the Christmas season. Churches were decorated with candles, ivy, bay, winter foilage and hedgerow berries.

Christmas was the longest holiday of the year by far and lasted from the night of , the 24th of December, to the Twelfth Day, , on the 6th of January. Mid-winter was a time of year which saw a lull in agricultural activity and consequently many peasants were permitted by their lord to have the entire two weeks off. The season also involved gift- giving and decorating the home with garlands & wreaths. , a naturally occurring parasitic foliage that grows on other trees, was deemed to be lucky and it would be gathered and made into wreaths that were hung over doorways and walkways where if, couples met, they were permitted to kiss as young women were usually chaperoned prior to marriage.

There were plenty of songs, dancing, and games, too. For many, just as today, it was the best of times. As with Christmas Eve , when the birth of Christ was marked,