Sunday 30 December 2012

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6

Twelve Days of Christmas – Day Six


The Feast of the Holy Family

The Veneration of the Holy Family - the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph – through the mercy of the Christ Child, consecrates the example of ideal family life, and the fellowship of men, women and children.



Saturday 29 December 2012

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day Five

Twelve Days of Christmas – Day Five


Thomas Becket (1118–29th December 1170, also known as St. Thomas of Canterbury, was of Norman descent, and was born in Cheapside, London. As a boy he often visited the estate of his father’s rich friend, and probably participated in horse riding and hawking. He joined the Archbishop of Canterbury’s staff, and became a negotiator, and was expert in legal matters. On the recommendation of the Archbishop of Canterbury he became Henry II’s friend and Lord Chancellor. The king and the astute Thomas Becket led an army into battle; later the king, who wanted control of the Church, ensured Thomas became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162.

Thomas put the Church first, and opposed Henry concerning the rights of the Church. Eventually, Thomas was forced to flee to France, but after some time Henry and Thomas superficially patched up the differences. However, without Thomas’s permission the Archbishop of York crowned the Prince of Wales (a ceremony which ensured the succession to the throne). Thomas excommunicated the Archbishop of York and other bishops for defying the Pope’s authority. An infuriated Henry spoke out in the presence of courtiers. “Who,” he demanded, referring to Thomas Becket, “will rid me of this troublesome priest?” Four of his knights rode to Canterbury and murdered Thomas before a side altar in Canterbury Cathedral. Subsequently, Henry neither arrested the assassins nor confiscated their estates but the Pope excommunicated them. Not long after his death Pope Alexander canonised Thomas.

An important shrine, St.Thomas’ tomb became one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Christendom. He is venerated as a saint and a martyr by the Roman Catholic and the Anglican Churches.



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Friday 28 December 2012

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day Four

The 12 Days of Christmas – Day 4


The fourth of the twelve days of Christmas on the 28th of December is Holy Innocents’ Day, which was for fasting not feasting.

According to the Gospel of St. Mathew, the Magi (the three wise men) told Herod that the King of the Jews would soon be born. Herod requested the Magi to return and tell him when they found the baby. However, an angel warned them not to, so they returned home by another route.

Thwarted because he could not implement his plan to murder the Christ Child, Herod gave orders for all the boy children in Bethlehem who were under the age of two to be slaughtered. The murdered innocents are regarded as saints and are the patron saints of foundlings.

People believed no work undertaken on the 28th of December would prosper, and that the day of the week on which Holy Saints’ Day fell would be unlucky throughout the following year.

A carol titled The Coventry Carol dates from the 16th century, it was part of a mystery play called "The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors". The carol is a mother’s imaginary lament for her ill-fated son. The following is one of the modern

Chorus

“Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay. )

O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Chorus

Herod, the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.

Chorus

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lulla.”

Chorus













Thursday 27 December 2012

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

The Twelve Days of Christmas – Day Three


The third of the twelve days of Christmas on the 27th of December is the feast day of St. John the Apostle or as he is often named John the Evangelist.

John, a son of Zebedee fished with his brother James the Great in Sea of Galilee for their living until Christ commanded them to cast down their nets and follow him to become Fishers of Men and Women. We cannot be sure of his fate. One version is that after the crucifixion Jesus commanded John to look after His mother Mary. The other is that he was martyred in Jerusalem at the time when his brother, James the Great, was. (James the Great was the first of the apostles to become a martyr when h was beheaded.)

John wrote the Gospel of St. John, and The Book of Revelations has been ascribed to John the Apostle but it is difficult to prove it.

There are two legends about him, in the first, after he refused to acknowledge the Emperor Domitian, he was boiled in a cauldron of oil from which he emerged unharmed; in the second, he was ordered to drink poison to prove God existed, however the poison became a snake that slithered out of the cup enabling the saint to drink without ill-effect.. John was then accused of being a magician and exiled to Patmos.

Wednesday 26 December 2012

12 ~Days of Christmas - Days 1 & 2

12 Days of Christmas - Days 1 & 2


Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve are not included in the twelve days of Christmas, so they differ from the advent calendar.

In times past these days were an excuse for prolonged feasting, Nowadays, Christmas decorations are taken down on twelfth night, perhaps in deference to the belief that not to do so would bring bad luck.

The first day of Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. The second day, December 26th, is the Feast of Saint Stephen, a Jew who was one of the first deacons to administer the Church in Jerusalem. Stephen was judged guilty of blasphemy and, became the first Christian martyr who, according to the New Testament, was stoned to death outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem thus becoming the first Christian martyr c. AD 35

Saint Stephen is often represented with either a stone on his head or stones in his hands. Maybe this is why he is the patron saint of builders and bricklayers.

In times past the day was celebrated with mumming plays and sword dances as well as the unpleasant custom of wren hunting, due to the belief that while the saint attempted to escape from prison the little bird began to sing thus betraying him to the prison guards.

There is a “Carol for St Stephen’s Day,” which refers to Stephen, Herod’s servant working in the kitchen the first verse of which is:

“Stephen out of the kitchen came, with boar’s head in hand,
He saw a star was fair and bright over Bethlehem stand,
He cast down the boar’s head, and went into the hall;
I forsake thee King Herod, and thy workes all;
There is a child born in Bethlehem better than we all.’

The other carol, which is well known, and believed to be historical fact, describe Good King Wenceslas looking out of the window and seeing a poor man collecting winter fuel.





Monday 24 December 2012

Father Christmas - pre-Victorian

Father Christmas - pre-Victorian


Those who have children in their families have probably experienced them bouncing about like excited puppy dogs on Christmas Eve. And more than likely they have yawned while despairing of the children going to sleep because they want to see Father Christmas.

In the early 17th century when the Puritan Government frowned on or banned merrymaking at Christmastime, Christmas was depicted as a merry old man who brought good cheer. The name, Father Christmas is now used in English-speaking countries, but elsewhere his is known by other names such as Pere Noel in France, Babbo Natale in Armenia and Noel Baba in Turkey.

In a masque devised by Ben Johnson, which dates from December 1616, Christmas says: "Why Gentlemen, doe you know what you doe? ha! would you ha'kept me out? Christmas, old Christmas?" Twenty-two years later in a masque by Thomas Nabbes Christmas made his entrance as an old gentleman wearing a furred gown and cap. Between then and 1686, when Josiah King wrote a pamphlet introducing Father Christmas, a representation of pre-Commonwealth traditions, other works were published for and against Christmas. King’s Father Christmas encouraged feasting, making merry and abundant hospitality.

For two hundred and fifty years Sir Christmas, Lord Christmas or Father Christmas continued to be a part of the seasonal festivities. In Yorkshire on Christmas Eve children marched in the streets playing music.

In Queen Victoria’s reign the image of Father Christmas merged with St Nicholas, known as Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) in Holland.

Tonight, (Christmas Eve) I shall stay at my daughter’s house. The children have sent their requests for presents to Father Christmas, who they believe lives at the North Pole, their stockings will be hung up at the ends of their beds and the presents piled under the Christmas tree. I am privileged to share their joy, the same joy I once experienced when my parents created a magical Christmas for me.

P.S. The Coca Cola company was not the first to depict Father Christmas as a large, jolly old man, dressed in red.











Sunday 23 December 2012

Christmastime - Some Old Customs

In the cold, dark winters days the birth of the Christ Child gave renewed hope to Christians and heralded the coming of spring. It was also the time of magic when superstitious people believed fairies, elves, witches and goblins roamed the land, and the ghosts of the departed visited their previous homes. On Christmas Day families cleaned their houses, set the tables and put meals on them before they went to church. They believed that if their ancestors approved of the preparations for their welcome the New Year would be happy and prosperous. On the other hand, shrieking winds which sounded like the howling voices of lost souls, who it was believed traversed the world, gave rise to legends such as The Wild Hunt or The Raging Hunt.


Other customs could be equally frightening. An ivy leaf submerged in water from the 31st December to the 5th of January foretold the future. If the leaf remained as fresh as it was when put in the water it foretold good health, if not it predicted the reverse.

Another custom was that of a girl, who wanted to get married, going to the hen house on Christmas Eve and rapping on the door. If the cockerel crowed the girl believed she would marry, but if a hen clucked she feared being a spinster for as long as she lived.





Saturday 22 December 2012

Two Medieval Christmas Games

Two Medieval Christmas Games




Hoodman Blind, or Blind Man’s Buff, was a popular game in times past. The blind man or woman’s eyes were covered by their hood, which was turned back to front. The object of the game was to catch another player, who then became the blind man or woman.

Later, presumably when hoods were no longer fashionable the blind man, woman or child’s eyes were covered by a scarf. The blindfolded person was turned round and round and then set free to catch someone and guess who it was.

Another popular game, the modern version of which is trying to catch an apple bobbing in water with the player’s teeth was Snap Dragon. Dried fruit floated in brandy which was set on fire. The players then snatched a currant or other fruit risking burnt fingers and burnt mouths. A second version was trying to take a bite out of an apple which was suspended on a string with a lighted candle without burning the face.

Thursday 20 December 2012

Christmas Game in Times Past

Christmas Game in Times Past


I remember playing Oranges and Lemons at Christmas parties. Adults sang the nursery rhyme while the children hurried to beneath an arch formed by two adults holding up their arms and holding hands.

“Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clements,
You owe me five farthings say the bells of St Martins,
When will you pay be say the bells of Old Bailey,
When I grow rich say the bells of Shoreditch,
When will that be? say the bells of Stepney,
I do not know says the great bell of Bow,
Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
Here comes the chopper to chop off your head."

When the last line came close the children increased their speed in an attempt to avoid being caught when the adults lowered their arms to trap one of them. The child would be asked to choose oranges or lemons and then told which adult to stand behind. My memory fails. I can’t remember how the game ended.

In the mediaeval era there was a tug of war between those who chose oranges and those who chose lemons.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Christmas - Lord of Misrule

Lord of Misrule


The custom of appointing a Lord of Misrule stemmed from ancient Rome. From the 17th to the 23rd of December his duty was to preside at the feast of Saturnalia, in the semblance of Saturn, the beneficial god. At that time masters served their slaves, and slaves became state officials. At that time, The Lord of Misrule was in authority and could order anyone to do anything.

The custom continued in the Christian era when the well-paid King of Misrule or Lord of Misrule officiated for many days at Christmas in the late medieval and early Tudor eras. He supervised Christmas celebrations at court, in noblemen’s houses, in the Inns of Court and at Oxford and Cambridge universities. During the festivities, he received homage from his court and was in charge of all the entertainment.

Eventually, the authorities put an end to the custom because, as time passed by the custom of having a Lord of Misrule degenerated into an excuse for rowdy behavior. Accompanied by a crowd playing musical instruments, and acting like mummers, he would march to church and interrupt the service.

Sunday 16 December 2012

Log Fires and Yule Logs

Log fires and Yule Logs


I’ve been trying to decide which of the recipes for a yule log which include eggs, can be converted to an egg free recipe. I haven’t decided, but thoughts of a ‘yule log’ brought images of a real one burning in the hearth.

The other evening, at my son and daughter-in-law’s house there was a wood fire in the grate. The flames, the warmth and the crackling wood brought pictures of the past to my mind.

The Druids blessed a ‘log’ the trunk or part of the trunk of a tree, and kept it burning throughout the winter solstice, which lasted 12 days, and kept part of it to light the following year’s Yule log.

In the northern lands of the Viking’s icy winter, warmth was essential. It was also necessary to placate Thor and greet the sun’s return after winter. The Yule log was the focus of their celebration the julfest. They carved runes on tree trunk which represented – for example – bad luck – that they wanted their gods and goddesses to take away. They also believed everyone who helped to bring in the Yule log would be protected from witches.

Druid or Viking, I can imagine families enjoying the fire with its light flickering over their faces, and children, cosy indoors, enjoying winter fare and listening to tales.

The Vikings, who doused the log with alcohol to make it burn, brought the custom to Britain, where with the passage of time, it was adopted by medieval Christians, to whom it represented the need to keep Jesus warm.

It was important to keep the log burning throughout the twelve days of Christmas, after which the ashes were gathered, and kept indoors to prevent lightening or fire breaking out.

Today, there are very few hearths large enough to fit a Yule log but there is nothing to prevent us choosing the largest log which will fit the fireplace and burning it in memory of the past.







Tradition of Christmas Kissing Bough

Christmas Kissing Bough


Now that I have researched the Kissing Bough I shall make one, if I have time.

In pagan times the kissing bough was a ball of holly and other evergreens beneath which hung mistletoe. It was probably linked to fertility rites the details which are lost in time.

However, once upon a time in Europe, to bless the household, a small treetop was hung upside down in the house to represent the Holy Trinity. However, it was not the custom in Britain, so from the 15th century onwards a Sacramental, a hoop or circle made of ash willow or hazel, was created, with either a model of the Christ Child or the Holy Family in the centre. Perhaps children helped to make it and looked forward to the priest blessing the bough before it was hung inside before the front door. Visitors indicated they brought good will by exchanging an embrace beneath the Holy Bough. As time passed by the bough became more elaborate, and was decorated with ribbons, gilded nuts and apples and candles.

In due course of time the Holy Bough or Holly Bough became known as the Kissing Bough due to the sprig of mistletoe suspended from it, which allowed any woman passing beneath it to be kissed.

If I have time, I want to make my own version of a kissing bough using an oasis ball decorated with holly and other greenery from my garden, red ribbon and ornaments. As I blogged yesterday I have no mistletoe so I shall call it a holly ball. If I don’t have time this year it is something I want to make next year along with a homemade wreath for my front door.









Medieval Christmas Miracle:The Holy Thorn of Glasonbury

Medieval Christmas Miracle:The Holy Thorn of Glastonbury


Most legends cannot be substantiated, but it has been recorded that the Holy Thorn blooms on the dot of midnight on old Christmas Eve, January 5th. (In 1752 Christmas was moved back to December 25th.)

The Thorn is regarded as holy because it is said that after Christ’s crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea, the owner of the tomb where Jesus lay, was preaching in Britain and came to the Isle of Avalon. While he was there on Christmas Day he thrust his staff into the ground where it immediately took root and sprouted leaves and blossom. Inspired by the miracle, Joseph established a church on the Isle.


Over the years cuttings of the Holy Thorn have been taken. For example, the Puritans disapproved of Christmas and cut down the miraculous thorn tree and, more recently, it was cut down. Fortunately the cuttings have survived to bloom at midnight on old Christmas Eve, and for a branch in bud to be sent to the sovereign each Christmas.



Christmas Kissing Bough

Now that I have researched the Kissing Bough I shall make one, if I have time.

In pagan times the kissing bough was a ball of holly and other evergreens beneath which hung mistletoe. It was probably linked to fertility rites the details which are lost in time.

However, once upon a time in Europe, to bless the household, a small treetop was hung upside down in the house to represent the Holy Trinity. However, it was not the custom in Britain, so from the 15th century onwards a Sacramental, a hoop or circle made of ash willow or hazel, was created, with either a model of the Christ Child or the Holy Family in the centre. Perhaps children helped to make it and looked forward to the priest blessing the bough before it was hung inside before the front door. Visitors indicated they brought good will by exchanging an embrace beneath the Holy Bough. As time passed by the bough became more elaborate, and was decorated with ribbons, gilded nuts and apples and candles.

In due course of time the Holy Bough or Holly Bough became known as the Kissing Bough due to the sprig of mistletoe suspended from it, which allowed any woman passing beneath it to be kissed.

If I have time, I want to make my own version of a kissing bough using an oasis ball decorated with holly and other greenery from my garden, red ribbon and ornaments. As I blogged yesterday I have no mistletoe so I shall call it a holly ball. If I don’t have time this year it is something I want to make next year along with a homemade wreath for my front door.



Mistletoe, Christmas, Norse & Kisses

Mistletoe, Christmas, Norse Mythology & Kisses.


I have no fresh mistletoe to decorate my house, but hope to establish some on an apple tree in my organic garden. Of course, I could use artificial mistletoe but have decided not to.

There are many legends about this plant sacred to druids and the properties ascribed to it. However the source of kissing under the mistletoe seems to be the legend about the Norse goddess of love, Frigga, and her son Balder, the god of the summer sun. Balder told his mother he had dreamt of his death. Anxious because it would mean the end of life on earth in the way she knew it, and about the loss of her son, she asked every being in the five elements to promise not to hurt Balder. Unfortunately, Frigga forgot to ask mistletoe that grew on apple trees to make the promise and it came about that mistletoe caused Balder’s death and then brought him back to life. Frigga’s tears turned into white berries, which she blessed, saying that anyone who stood beneath mistletoe would be safe and had the right to a kiss which symbolised love. It seems that this legend is the source of the custom of kissing under the mistletoe, which became a tradition at Christmas. Possibly, Viking invaders introduced the legend, which 21st century people might consider quaint, but if I can grow some, I would like to decorate my house with mistletoe.



Wednesday 12 December 2012

Ivy at Christmas Past and Present

Ivy at Christmas Past and Present.


I have picked holly and ivy, arranged them in a vase, and decorated them with tiny parcels wrapped in gold paper tied with red ribbon and ornamented with stars.

Early Christians would not have brought ivy indoors because the Church associated it with the god of wine, Bacchus, who wore a wreath of ivy on his head, and whose female associates drank wine made from ivy. I did not feel guilty for picking ivy which, according to one belief, symbolises females because it clings, and according to another represents human need to cling to divine strength.

There are many legends about ivy, one was that a stem placed in a glass of wine would filter poison, and another was that ivy growing on the wall of a house deterred witches

Once upon a time, there were contradictory beliefs about ivy. She was either condemned to stand outside in winter’s cold or described as blessed and cherished. Also, because ivy grows profusely in graveyards, it was sometimes regarded as a symbol of death, so it was not surprising she was banned from the celebration of Christ’s birth, although, like other evergreens, she was believed to represent eternal life.

Eventually, the Church allowed ivy to be carved in stone and wood, but she was still condemned to remain outside in the cold, dark days of winter, but ivy cut from my garden, both plain green and variegated green and sunshine-yellow are welcome in my house.

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Holly or Christ's Thorn and Legend

Festive Holly or Christ’s Thorn and Legend


This year the holly bush in my garden has abundant scarlet berries which will glow against the green, prickly leaves in my house and connect it with the past because holly was used to decorate mediaeval houses in the dark days of midwinter. However, holly and other greenery were disapproved of by the church because of their connection to pagan customs. Druids decorated their huts with holly, ivy and mistletoe; Romans exchanged boughs and gifts during Satturnalia, which took place a week before Christmas.

Another name for holly is Christ’s Thorn. According to legend, when Christ walked on earth holly grew in his footsteps. Perhaps it was called holy tree not holly tree and the scarlet berries, which resemble drops of blood, are symbolic of Christ’s suffering.

Eventually, the Church accepted holly, the wood of which was thought to have been used for the cross on which Christ was crucified; and the leaves were believed to have been used in His crown of thorns. It was also claimed its white flowers symbolised the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception and that its evergreen leaves represented life eternal.

There are many superstitions about holly, which was regarded as a man’s plant. Mediaeval people believed holly brings good luck, and that when it was planted outside their doors it protected them from thunderstorms.

So, when I bring holly into my house tomorrow I will be conscious of these and many more old beliefs, legends and superstitions.



Monday 10 December 2012

Christmas Trees, Druids and Saints

Christmas Trees, Druids ad Saints


Yesterday morning, my three year-old granddaughter and I decorated my Christmas tree. “Beautiful,” she said when the lights were turned on, “Beautiful,” she shouted with all the delightful enthusiasm of a small girl, when I draped the tree with tinsel garlands. And then she sang Jiggle Bells – her version of Jingle Bells while we put shiny decorations on the tree; and then she fell in love with the angel for the top of the tree. “I like it,” she told me when I put it in place.

After she went home I researched Christmas trees. I had always associated the first ones in England with Queen Victoria and Albert but, to my surprise, I discovered Christmas, or fir trees, were important in the seventh an eighth century.

Saint Wilfred, 634-709, cut down an oak tree sacred to pagan gods. After the oak split in half, a fir tree sprouted from the centre. The saint declared the fir was dedicated to Christ and that its evergreen branches represented eternal life. There is another story about another English saint, Boniface 680-754, who cut down an oak, the tree sacred to druids. When pagan gods neither took revenge nor protected the pagans for chopping down the oak, it helped the saint to convert people to Christianity.

In Germany, during the mediaeval era, the fir tree symbolised the Garden of Eden in mummers’ plays and, maybe, in England. However, it seems Christmas trees were not set up indoors at that period, but there is a picture dated 1521 (just after the mediaeval period) of a decorated fir being carried down a German street.

Today, artificial Christmas trees are available in pink, white, green and other colours but, although I have a large green, artificial tree for environmental reasons, nothing is superior to the fragrance of a real fir tree. Next year I might buy a small tree and plant it in the garden after Twelfth Night.





Sunday 9 December 2012

Christmas Fare Present and Mediaeval

Christmas Fare Present and Mediaeval


Today, those who wish to celebrate Christmas with special food have a much wider choice than their mediaeval ancestors. There would have been no potatoes roast or otherwise, no tomatoes and no turkey, for the lands which produced them were unknown in Europe.

My family and I are vegetarians, but on Christmas day we will enjoy a wide variety of festive food, including a vegetarian Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies.

Our main dish, a large vegetable and cheese pie will be served, brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and other vegetables as well as gravy and sauce. On Boxing Day lunch will be accompanied by a large salad in which there will be avocado, olives and tomatoes as well as other ingredients - a very different menu to that served in mediaeval times.

Vegetables were not usually served with fish, fowl and meat. As well as fruit they were used to make sauce or incorporated in pottage – which – I think - was a cross between a kind of thick, nourishing soup and a stew. Apart from the boar’s head, which I wrote of in an earlier post, at Christmas, bacon, beef or ham might be served and, maybe, swan or goose. On noblemen’s estates the peasants would partake of communal meals and – if they were lucky - drink Christmas Wassail, a spiced, sweetened mixture of ale and cider.

Frumenty, sometimes called plum porridge, wheat boiled in milk to which eggs, spices and later, when they were available, dried fruit was added. Eventually, the frumenty was tied in a cloth and boiled thus making an ancestor of the Christmas pudding. Then, as now, I suspect rich fruit cakes were relished, particularly the twelfth night cake.

Mince pies are traditional Christmas fare but the one eaten by our ancestors were very different to modern ones. The filling of minced meats made from leftover scraps bound with suet was put in layers in a large pastry case between fruit and spice. Sometimes it was Christmas Fare Present and Mediaeval

Today, those who wish to celebrate Christmas with special food have a much wider choice than their mediaeval ancestors. There would have been no potatoes roast or otherwise, no tomatoes and no turkey, for the lands which produced them were unknown in Europe.

My family and I are vegetarians, but on Christmas day we will enjoy a wide variety of festive food, including a vegetarian Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies.

Our main dish, a large vegetable and cheese pie will be served, brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and other vegetables as well as gravy and sauce. On Boxing Day lunch will be accompanied by a large salad in which there will be avocado, olives and tomatoes as well as other ingredients - a very different menu to that served in mediaeval times.

Vegetables were not usually served with fish, fowl and meat. As well as fruit they were used to make sauce or incorporated in pottage – which – I think - was a cross between a kind of thick, nourishing soup and a stew. Apart from the boar’s head, which I wrote of in an earlier post, at Christmas, bacon, beef or ham might be served and, maybe, swan or goose. On noblemen’s estates the peasants would partake of communal meals and – if they were lucky - drink Christmas Wassail, a spiced, sweetened mixture of ale and cider.

Frumenty, sometimes called plum porridge, wheat boiled in milk to which eggs, spices and later, when they were available, dried fruit was added. Eventually, the frumenty was tied in a cloth and boiled thus making an ancestor of the Christmas pudding. Then, as now, I suspect rich fruit cakes were relished, particularly the twelfth night cake.

Mince pies are traditional Christmas fare but the one eaten by our ancestors were very different to those made today. The filling of minced meats made from leftover scraps bound with suet was put in layers in a large pastry case between fruit and spice. Sometimes it was left open; sometimes it was covered with a pastry lid topped with a carefully shaped infant Jesus modelled in pastry. A charming tradition was to give the first helping to the youngest child at the feast, who could make a wish when he or she took the first bite.



Friday 7 December 2012

Nativity Carols Mediaeval and Modern

Nativity Carols




Some mediaeval carols written in the 15th century query how a humble girl would react if an angel appeared. Such nativity carols would have helped ordinary people to understand that, like them, Mary had been a real person.



However the Magi were far removed from the experience of common folk. The three kings, frequently called Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, who had travelled far from home, perhaps as far away as India, bringing exotic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, must have seemed extraordinary.

I enjoy the popular carol We Three Kings Orient Are, written in 1857 by Reverend John Henry Hopkins, the first verse of which is:

"We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star."

I have no doubt that mediaeval men, women and children of high and low degree enjoyed carols which celebrate the Adoration of the infant Jesus by the Magi, the first verse of one of which was:

"A sterre shone bright on Twelfte Day,
Ouer that place where Jhesus lay.

On Twelfte Day this sterre so clere,
Brought kinges in oute of the eest,

Vnto that King that hath no pere,
In Bethleem Jude where he did rest,
This steere that day tho went away,
From that swete place where Jesus lay.
In an age when most people were illiterate such a carol was both enjoyable and instructive."

I’ve just shared this article with my six year-old granddaughter, who is starring in her school play ‘Little Angel Gets Her Wings’. She has shared the part in the play about the three kings, and sung a carol about them. So, today, children ike my granddaughter share the same joy and wonder as children in times past.

Carols, Vegetarian, Boar's Head

Carols and The Boar’s Head




I am a vegetarian, so some aspects of historical research make me squeamish, but not so squeamish that I do not delve into the past.



Swine were sacred to the Vikings who sacrificed a boar to their god Frey. Decorated with garlands, an apple in its mouth, the boar’s head was served by the Norseman.

The Britons and Anglo Saxons sacrificed animals, usually oxen, so in spite of the pagan origins it was not long before the tradition of serving a boar’s head became a custom at Christmas.

At Queen’s College Oxford, a boar’s head was served on the last Saturday before Christmas accompanied by a secular carol, which began:

“The boar’s head in hand bear I,
Bedecked with bays and rosemary;
And I pray you my masters be merry;
…”

Today, a turkey is as important a part of the Christmas meal as the boar’s head was to pagans and mediaeval Christians. However, as a vegetarian, my sympathy is with the slaughtered boars and turkeys. Perhaps I should find time to write a carol in praise of a vegetarian feast.





Thursday 6 December 2012

School Carol Service, Mediaeval and Pagan Carols

I enjoyed the carol service held at a Roman Catholic Church with a choir composed of two streams of sixty Year Three children amongst whom was my grandson, who sang joyfully.

At the beginning some of the children were on the stage and others, carrying candles preceded down the aisle, all the children singing the Military Wives carol, Stronger Together. Neither Stronger Together nor some mediaeval carols sung at Christmas time are nativity carols.

Some pagan carols had vestiges of heathen beliefs and others centred on the world around our forebears and nature. For example, the opening couplets of a carol about the holly and the ivy are:

"Nay,luy,nay,hyt shal not be iwys,
Let Holy hafe the maystry, as the manner ys (is).

Holy stond (stand) in the hall, fayre to behold;
Iuy stond without the dore; she ys ful sore a cold.

Holy and hys merry men, thy dawsyn and they syng;
Iuy and her maydeyns, they wepyn and they wryng (their hands)."

Carols such as this one were not intended to be sung in church but by ordinary people and the mummers who travelled from place to place.

However, the word picture of the holly and the ivy puts me in mind of one of my favourite carols, The Holly and the Ivy, the imagery of which I have enjoyed since childhood.

Yesterday, the Year Three choir sang the traditional favourites, Once in Royal David’s City, Away in a Manger and O Come All Ye Faithful. The children also sang nativity carols I am less familiar with, including a version of Unto Us A Child is Born, which I had not heard before, Midnight, Starry Night, and The Gift.

Finally there was a Carol called Turn Down The Lights about the night before Christmas the first verse of which is:

"Turn down the lights and watch the fire glowing,
Colours turn bright and warm.
Now is the time for waiting and knowing,
Christmas will come with the dawn."

As the seven year olds, dressed in their blue and grey uniforms sang, in my mind’s eye I saw seven year olds, garbed in old fashioned clothes, eyes shining by fire and candlelight, who were excited by the coming of the Christ Child and the festivities they looked forward to. The link between modern day children and those in times past touched my heart.





Wednesday 5 December 2012

Christmas Carols and the Crib

Christmas Carols and the Crib.


This evening my grandson will sing with his school choir in church. I’m not sure which Christmas carols will be sung but I am sure I shall enjoy them as much as Christians did in the mediaeval era.

The sight of the crib will move me as much as it did when I was a small girl, although the figure of the new-born Christ child will not be added until Christmas morning, something the children will look forward too.

As a child I did not know that St Francis of Assisi -1181-1226 -, who I admire, was the first person to display a crib, and a barn with Mary and Joseph, Shepherds and the Three Wise Men as well as animals; and I did not know he introduced Christmas carols in vernacular which ordinary people could understand. (Previously, Christ’s birth was celebrated with hymns sung in Latin.) Some of the carols were sung around the nativity scene, some included dances.

The carols composed by St Francis and members of the order he founded fulfilled their purpose, that of reminding peasants about the teachings of Christ. St Francis’ carols became known in Spain, France and Germany, and in 1224 arrived in England. The first known English carol, ‘A Child is Boren Amonges Man’ was found in notes on a sermon penned by a Franciscan friar. Subsequently, Englishmen composed nativity carols, one of the earliest of which begins with the charming words – I saw a swete seemly sight, A blissful byred, a blossom bright, That murnyng made mirth of mange (among) A mayden moder, mek and myld.” This is not a carol I will hear this evening, but I know I shall enjoy the service and while listening, be aware of those who came before me to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Christmas Plays

Christmas Plays




Since I was a small child Christmas festivities have delighted me as much as they probably delighted children in the Mediaeval Age.

I can visualise excited children out and about watching mummers prancing in the streets wearing animal masks, possibly singing carols and, like modern day carol singers, visiting houses to receive money and food.

Other mummers performed different types of plays in which good battled evil. First of all the hero, maybe St George, recited the prologue in which the main characters were introduced and the villain,maybe the dragon, is challenged. I can imagine children cheering St George and booing the dragon while the saint tackles the mythical beast, or the Turkish Knight, with a sword. Sometimes the hero is killed after which the doctor takes the stage with medicine to miraculously restore the dead to life; and then other characters who have no connection to the plot appear, including Beelzebub, who, I think I am safe to say made naughty children tremble.

Another popular theme was one with the theme of a love triangle which features a Dame, maybe an antecedent of today’s pantomime dame.

Sunday 2 December 2012

Christmas Performers Past and Present

Christmas Performers




Today, those of us who enjoy the Christmas season are spoilt for choice. There are pantomimes, spectaculars on ice, ballet, plays on stage and screen, carol services and t.v. programmes. I take my metaphorical hat off to all the modern day talented amateur and professional performers and to the mummers of old.

In pagan times mummers were street performers, who wore masks to hide their identities. They performed in mid-winter enacting the sun’s death in winter and rebirth in spring. By the Middle Ages mummers performed at Christmas. In my mind’s eye I see excited children squealing in fright at the sight of Beelzebub, welcoming Old Man Winter (Father Christmas) and cheering St George when he killed the dragon or, after the crusades, the Turkish knight.

Sometimes, a play was not the theme of mumming (disguising). Edward III enjoyed mumming games which the participants wore masks of, to name a few, women, angels, dragons and swans. In January 1377, to music played on a variety of instruments, over a hundred Londoners rode to Kennington where Prince Richard was staying with his mother. Upon their arrival the mummers wagered a gold cup which the prince won with loaded dice. After three wagers the mummers distributed gold rings, the feast commenced and the prince and his courtiers joined in a dance with the mummers. Richard was a prince probably aware of his own consequence but I hope he joined in the festivities with childish enthusiasm.