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| Santa taking a much needed rest by the fire in Peter Higley's medieval house before Christmas Eve |
Christmas is
almost only days away and we’re really starting to get excited here in
Dublinia! So much so that we couldn’t help but wonder what a medieval Christmas
would have looked like… are there traditions that have stood the test of time
or is Christmas today completely different to those celebrated by our medieval
ancestors? We’ve chosen just a few things you might recognise from your own
family Christmases and have done a little digging to see how they compared to a
medieval celebration!
Firstly though,
have you ever wondered how Christmas all began?? Believe it or not, it dates
all the way back to around 300AD, but not quite as far back as the birth of
Jesus! The date of Jesus’s birthday was never actually recorded in the gospels.
Christians at the time felt His death and resurrection (celebrated at Easter)
were of far more importance; so the 25th of December was a date that
was chosen long after he had passed away!
It was during the medieval period that Christmas then became one of the
most significant dates in the Christian calendar. Just like today, Advent
formed the build up to the 25th December, but lasted 40 days! Before
you get too jealous of an extra-long Christmas though, this was seen as a time
of fasting, contemplation and repentance for your sins in preparation for the
birth of the saviour…
Now let’s look a
little closer at some of our own Christmas celebrations!
Are you one of
those people who spend weeks looking forward to your Christmas dinner? All of
that turkey and ham? Well, in medieval Dublin you would have been eating
something a little different off your plate! Turkeys were native to America and
only arrived in Europe after it was discovered in the late 15th century.
Instead you would have been tucking into roast goose and even swan! To make the
food on the table even more appealing, birds were sometimes posed on the plate
before carving… These poultry dishes would have been accompanied by beef,
venison, bread, cheese, ale and wine. The elaborate feasts which marked
Christmas would have been a real treat after the long period of fasting during
Advent! And those delicious mince pies you could eat a dozen of? In medieval
Dublin, just as the name suggests, they were made with actual meat – so not
quite as tasty as those you’ll be having next week… and people believed it was
lucky to eat one a day for the 12 days of Christmas!!
The idea of a
crib came about in the early thirteenth century after St Francis of Assisi set
up a nativity scene in a cave in Italy to teach local people about the story of
Christmas. Many people at this time across all of Europe (including here in
Ireland) would have lived in very close quarters to their animals. The belief
that Jesus was born in a similar situation to them would have been of huge
significance to an enormous part of medieval society.
And do you love
to hear carollers as you walk down the street doing your Christmas shopping?
Carollers singing outside also dates right back to the Middle Ages! A carol in
medieval times literally meant to sing and dance in a circle. The oldest carols
from this time saw a single singer in the middle of a ring of dancers inside
the church; but this meant that when carols were sung at holy masses over
Christmas, the religious aspect of the occasion was often interrupted. This
frustrated the clergy so much that for a short time, carollers were banished to
the streets!
There you have it
– plenty has changed since Christmas became a major celebration in the medieval
period, but, maybe surprisingly, there is lots that has remained the same for
centuries! There’s nothing left for us to do now but wish you all a Merry
Christmas, and enjoy those mince pies!! If you need a break and some fresh air,
we’re closed from Christmas Eve until Stephens’ Day – but back open as usual
from the 27th December!
