Christmas Medieval

Inside a large fire burns brightly filling the room with intense warmth.

Christmas medieval. Christmas may owe its popularity in medieval times to liturgical dramas and mysteries presented in the church. Medieval christmas poetry 1 this verse is from the early thirteenth century. Though christmas was very different in the middle ages many of the pastimes and activities that we associate with it would have been familiar to medieval people. Medieval christmas wasn t quite the all encompassing celebration it often is today so relax a little.

Gifts were exchanged colourful church services enjoyed and merry feasts were. In 1223 saint francis of assisi is said to have used a crib to explain to the local people of assisi the christmas story. Christmas was one of the highlights of the medieval calendar not only for the rich but also for the peasantry. Feasting playing games singing drinking around a fire decorating the house with evergreens and giving gifts are just some of the traditions enjoyed in the medieval festive season.

As interest in the nativity grew so did christmas as a holiday. The christmas crib originated in medieval times but in medieval italy. The occupants inhale the scent of decorative evergreens drink sweet wine and tuck into a hearty meal. Christmas the feast of jesus s nativity was important but more significant was easter and perhaps also the annunciation that moment celebrated on 25 march when god was supposedly conceived in mary s womb.

A medieval christmas christmas was one of the highlights of the medieval calendar not only for the rich but also for the peasantry. Downloadable as a bbc podcast here or here. You may recognise some of the lines as they are quoted in another much more famous poem quoted below which has been set as a christmas carol. A medieval christmas by ben johnson whilst the term christmas first became part of the english language in the 11th century as an amalgamation of the old english expression christes maesse meaning festival of christ the influences for this winter celebration pre date this time significantly.

Christmas was one of the highlights of the medieval calendar not only for the rich but also for the peasantry. It seems that the part played by animals in the christmas story also comes from the early 13th century even if the bible does not mention them. For the longest holiday of the year typically the full twelve days of christmas people stopped work homes were decorated and a yule log burned in the hearth. This is an illustrated transcript of medieval christmas a feature i wrote for bbc radio 3 nightwaves.