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Medieval Christmas

The Medieval period covers the years 950 to 1547 - from the time of Alfred the Great through the Norman conquest and up to the Tudor Age.

Medieval Christmases were very different to Christmas as we know it. It was mainly a religious celebration of the birth of Christ whereas the concept of Christmas today is mainly enjoyment with homage paid to the birth of Christ as a secondary consideration.

Although Medieval Christmases did not involve the commercial aspect of our day, it gave us some Christmas traditions which we still very much enjoy. One of these traditions is the use of a crib at Christmas. St Francis of Assisi who championed the cause of animals first used the crib in Italy around the year 1220 to explain to local people, the part played by animals – the donkey, the cow and the sheep – in the Christmas story. People celebrating Medieval Christmases were not aware of this as the part of the animals is not mentioned in the bible.

Another tradition dating from Medieval Christmas is the practice of eating mince pies. During Medieval Christmas, a large mince pie was always baked and filled with all kinds of shredded meat ,spices and fruit. This recipe only changed in Victorian times when the shredded meat was left out. In Medieval Christmas, It was believed that if you made a wish with the first bite of your first mince pie, your  wish would come true. If you refused the first mince pie someone offered you over Christmas, you would then suffer bad luck.

The Christmas pudding also comes down to us from Medieval Christmases. Then, it was made from a spicy porridge and known as "frumenty". This was indeed a luxury. It was made of thick porridge with dried fruits stirred in. The yolks of eggs were also added and any available spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. The mixture was left to cool and set before being served.

We owe the tradition of Carol Singing in public at Christmas time to the Church's strict behaviour codes during Medieval Christmases. Carols were banned within churches during Medieval Christmases because the people took the word "carol" literally – that is “ to sing and dance in a circle”. The carol signers carried this out with gusto and the Church at the time felt they were spoiling the Christmas Services so they were banned and ordered into the street! We certainly have reason to be grateful for that as carol singers bring a wonderful air of festivity to our public places at Christmas time.

Medieval Christmas certainly laid the foundations for Christmas traditions as we know them today.