By We’re all feeling chilly as Christmas approaches and seeing the almost daily headlines in the national press of about an impending BIG FREEZE. It’s timely then to think about how our early modern ancestors experienced the Christmas and winter season. For Londoners winter brought a change in the physical environment
By Mince Pies and Pottage
A short while ago Sara and I headed to the 1620s house at Donington le Heath to whip up a seventeenth-century mice pie recipe, and accompanying pottage. We have blogged about mince pies before and the ways in which they became controversial in the eighteenth century, but this was our
Curing Festive Feasting Ailments
Will there be no more cakes and ale? Sir Toby Belch, Twelfth Night (Act II, Scene 3) We’d be willing to bet that most of us have over indulged on the Christmas goodies at one time or another, and for those in the past this was just as true. In
Under the Mistletoe
Christmas is drawing ever closer and people are decorating their homes, soon, I’m sure, we will start to see sprigs of mistletoe hanging from door frames. We all know that two people under the mistletoe are supposed to kiss. But in the early modern period mistletoe (or misletow, misletoe) was
A Christmas Tragedy with a Miraculous Ending
Every year we aim to bring you a Christmas themed post. We have looked at Christmas Roses, Mince pies, and soon will be bringing you a suggestion for warding off Christmas over-indulgence. Today we bring you a story related to Christmas, although perhaps not one that embodies Christmas spirit. This