8 Medieval Christmas Traditions
When it comes to Christmas, it can mean different things to different people, one thing for sure is that for most people, regardless of religious persuasion, it is a time of celebration, family and festivity. The holiday itself dates back to the 4th century when Pope Julius I declared December 25 to be the date of Christ’s birth. It was not long before believers all throughout Europe were celebrating the season with feasts, drinking and all sorts of revelry. I decided to go hunting and find out a bit more about some of the modern traditions we enjoy, and it seems a lot of them have come from the mingling of the Christian and the Pagan worlds to develop into what we all know today.
# 1 -
12 Days of Christmas
The 12 days of Christmas actually signify the period that marks the 12 days between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It runs right through from Christmas Day to January 6 (Epiphany, sometimes called Three Kings Day). Over time Christmas has become for most of us, one day of celebration, whereas in past centuries it was actually a church mini-season with even peasants having time off to take part in the merriment. Within the 12 days were 7 Holy days, all warranting celebration and feasting, it really was a very special time of the year.
The thing that most people today think of when they hear 12 days of Christmas is the Christmas Carol where the singer is bragging about all the cool things they received on each of the 12 days from their ‘true love’. What I found most fascinating is that since 1984 the PNC Bank has maintained a Christmas Price Index and the True Cost of Christmas, I have no idea why but there it is.
The former is the current cost of one set of each of the gifts given by ‘my true love’ to the singer. The latter on the other hand is the cumulative cost of all the gifts including each repetition listed in the song. Considering the recent pace of inflation 2022 figures are staggering, the total for 2022 for the Christmas Price Index is a crazy $45,523.27 or a whopping $197,071.09 for the True Cost of Christmas… all I can say is ‘my true love’ must have a very healthy bank account.
Photo - Xavier Romero-Frias
# 2 -
Presepi or Nativity Scene
Probably one of the most recognisable of the Christmas symbols is the Nativity Scene, that well-known image of the baby Jesus in his crib in the manger with Mary and Joseph, surrounded by animals and the three wise men. Do we know however what the origins of that scene are? We do know that within the gospels of Matthew and Luke, there are details of Christ’s birth including that he was born in Bethlehem and that the shepherds found him lying in a manger, but the gospels do not mention any animals. The nativity scene as we know has been credited to St Francis of Assisi, who created a replica of the scene in a cave in the small town of Greccio in Italy in 1223. His reason was to help children understand the true meaning of Christmas, he accomplished this by using real people and animals, which possibly was also the birth of the traditional Christmas pageants that we still see happening every year in celebration. At a time when the true meaning of Christmas can be totally lost in a whirlwind of presents and gift-giving, St Francis felt the need to remind people of the true spirit of Christmas.
You have to wonder what he would have thought of the fact that what he began in that small cave, would still be the cornerstone of most people’s Christmas traditions, almost 800 years later.
# 3 - Holly and Mistletoe
I am sure by now everybody is well and truly in the holiday mood, including listening to all of the Christmas Carols playing in shopping centres and on the radio, are you out there decking the halls with boughs of holly or attempting to steal a kiss from under the mistletoe? Have you ever been curious about the origins of these festive plants that seem to be a necessity when we think of decorations?
Holly - This unassuming plant actually has a history that dates back to ancient Druid and Roman civilisations. It was considered to be a sacred plant by the Druids, possibly because, while other plants wilted and died off in winter, holly was steadfast, remaining green and strong even in the harshest conditions. It was considered bad luck to chop down a holly bush but on the other hand hanging it in your home was believed to bring good luck and protection. The ancient Romans associated holly with the God Saturn, and would often ‘deck’ their halls with its boughs during the festival of Saturnalia. Christian folklore considered holly to be symbolic of Christ in two ways, the red berries represent Christ’s blood that was shed and the pointed leaves signify the crown of thorns placed on his head.
Mistletoe - For the ancient Druids the mistletoe was a symbol of fertility due to its ability to bloom through the cold and lifeless winter months. It was also believed to have mystical powers and by hanging it in your home it would ward off evil spirits. The mistletoe figures more prominently in Norse mythology, it was a symbol of love that originated from the Goddess Frigg. The story goes that her son died after being hit by an arrow made of mistletoe, after his death she vowed that happiness and goodness would be bestowed upon anybody passing underneath, so long as it was never used as a weapon again. Moving on to the Romans when enemies of war would reconcile their differences under the mistletoe, which was a representation of peace. The custom of kissing began in England, possibly in the 18th century. There were illustrations of kissing under the mistletoe in the first book version of “A Christmas Carol’ which was published in 1843 and this probably helped to popularise it. It is interesting to note that York Minster used to hold a special Mistletoe Service where wrong doers in the city could come and be pardoned. Either way it is still a tradition that remains today, and puts a lot of smiles on revelers faces.
# 4 -
Gift giving
Although most of us believe that the Christmas tradition of gift-giving began with the three wise men who gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus, it actually has its roots in pagan customs. The pagan Saturnalia festival where people would give generous gifts in thanks to the God of Agriculture Saturn was eventually replaced by the early Christmas traditions. Throughout the Middle Ages however, it was in fact a way to exploit the poor. Kings and Queens would require tributes from their subjects on Christmas, and it soon spread to lower-ranking noblemen who began requesting their own gifts. These peasants would give what they could but receive nothing in return from their overlords.
We are all familiar with the Christmas Carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’, this 10th century Bohemian duke was one of the first rulers to reverse this trend and spend his holidays giving food, clothing and firewood to the less fortunate, (maybe this act of generosity was part of the reason that he was posthumously elevated to King). In time these peasants would begin to share very small gifts among themselves, and I guess this trend has continued to current times.
# 5 - Christmas Tree
It seems like a lot of Christmas traditions the tree has its roots in ancient times, both with Pagans and the Romans. Pagans/Pre-Christians decorated their homes with evergreen trees during the winter solstice to remind them of the coming spring, and the Roman used fir trees to decorate their temples during the festival of Saturnalia. It is quite feasible that Christmas trees began as Paradise Trees, in Medieval Germany these trees were decorated with apples and paraded around the town prior to a Mystery or Miracle play being performed (plays that told bible stories to people who could not read). In the early church calendars 24th December was actually Adam and Eve’s Day and the tree represented the Garden of Eden. The claim to having the first tree being associated with Christmas and New Year celebrations is claimed by both Tallinn in Estonia (in 1441) and Riga in Latvia (in 1510), the trees in both cities were put up by the ‘Brotherhood of Blackheads’ which was an association of local unmarried merchants and shipowners. We do know that in Riga in the town square there is a plaque which is engraved with ‘The First New Year’s Tree in Riga in 1510’.
There is a belief that the first person to actually bring a tree into the house was the 16th-century German preacher Martin Luther. Queen Charlotte, the German wife of King George III is believed to have put up the first Christmas tree in the UK in Kew Palace or Windsor Castle in the 1790s. Decorating the tree became a popular event for the royal court, from the branches would be hung sweetmeats, almonds, raisins, and toys for the children, as well as small wax candles. In 1848 a drawing of ‘The Queen's Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle’ was published in the Illustrated London News, even though Christmas Trees had been taken to the USA by settlers from Germany and other European countries, they were still seen as a rather strange decoration until this drawing was published.
# 6 -
Christmas Carols (Wassailling)
The word carol actually means dance or song of praise and joy! Christmas Carols have been sung for thousands of years but they were not called Christmas Carols, they were pre-Christian/Pagan songs that were sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced around the stone circles. When Christmas began to be celebrated at the same time as the Winter Solstice then the songs included the story of Christ’s birth. They were in the beginning sung in churches and therefore in Latin, which most people did not understand so by the Middle Ages the interest in them was waning.
As with the nativity scene, it was St Francis of Assisi in 1223 who changed that when he started performing his nativity plays. Most of the time the plays, and therefore the carols were in a language that all the people could understand. Within a very short time, the new carols spread to France, Spain, Germany, and other European countries. The term wassailing is also associated with Christmas Carols, it was actually a pagan custom that was then adopted by Christmas revellers. As the tradition evolved, the word came to be linked to the hot mulled apple cider drink that was distributed during Yuletide, carollers would take their wassail bowl door to door, offering a drink and a song in exchange for gifts. Obviously, the carols component still exists, but nowadays the carollers normally leave the booze behind.
# 7 -
Christmas Feast
I think no matter where in the world you come from, one of the biggest parts of our Christmas festivities is the food, and really, out of all of the Christmas traditions, this is probably the one that has remained the same no matter how far we look back. During Neolithic times people gathered for mid-winter feasts, going by archaeological excavations carried out in Southern England it seems that the primary meats eaten were pork and beef… this hasn’t changed much at all. The Romans honoured the god Saturn in their mid-winter feast and it lasted for up to seven days. It was also a chance for the slaves to be treated in similar fashion to their masters, enjoying the rewards of fresh meat, exotic fruits, and treats.
In medieval England the Christmas feast was similar to other feast days with fancy dishes served in the wealthiest of castles, even in the homes of peasants there were larger portions of food and drink served. During King John’s Christmas feast in 1213, records show he ordered the following… 200 head of pork, 1,000 hens, 50lbs of pepper, 2lbs of saffron, 100lbs of almonds, 24 hogshead of wine, 500lbs of wax, and to top it off 10,000 salt eels.
# 8 - Pennies in the Christmas Cake
The origin of this tradition lies with Pagans, and it is rather gruesome. Part of their solstice celebrations included the consumption of a cake containing a single bean. For the lucky person, or unlucky as the case may be, he who found the bean would have the honour of becoming King for a year, and lording it over everybody else. Unfortunately at the end of their year of ruling, they would be sacrificed and their blood shed into the earth to promote another year of bountiful harvest. During medieval times when it was obviously not quite so gruesome, there were some minor adjustments made, the person who found the bean was not sacrificed, but they did only get to be a King for a day instead of for the entire year. Moving forward to modern times, this has turned into today's tradition of hiding pennies in Christmas cakes to symbolize coming riches. Unfortunately, there is much more chance of breaking a tooth if you bite into a penny, rather than if it had still included a bean.
So I hope you have enjoyed the fruits of my research on how people celebrated Christmas in times gone by and how that has influenced the traditions that so many of us follow today, obviously there are many more stories and theories of where it all began but that is a tale for another time, maybe next year.
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Max
All images from Creative Commons/Public Domain
