Can anyone tell me - or tell me where to find! - information on the type of decorations, if any that were common at Christmas in Tudor times? Not so much at court, but, for example,in the house of fairly wealthy Elizabethans? Obviously no Christmas trees etc, and I know they used greenery for garlands etc; but did they use anything else for decoration?
I know that during the period of Edward VI, Christmas was not observed with any festivities or decorating. Hard-line Protestants of the kind that would later be known as Puritans opposed such celebrations, though they did gain some popularity in the reign of Elizabeth I. My understanding, however, is that gift-giving and such centered on New Year's Day rather than Christmas. Surely there are some books available on the history of Christmas as a holiday that would give you reliable information?
ReplyDeleteLis,
ReplyDeleteCheck out Karen Harper's The Queene's Christmas. Even though its fiction (a great mystery read), the book gives a well-researched and from what I can tell pretty accurate rendering of xmas celebrations in Tudor times. If I remember correctly, she includes a bibliography as well.
Lis,
ReplyDeleteThe Servants dressed in the Tudor colors of Green and white, They had good food and drink all the time, You wore your best cloths and Jewels and the floors were sprinkled with sweet smelling herbs every day. I don't know much about the decoration them selves but I would say you decked your selves out. Silks and Rubies... and that was for the least cared about Lady Elizabeth. (Later Elizabeth I)
- Becky or Trix
Lis,
ReplyDeleteI defently know that thay never had
christmas trees because the christmas trees came from Gurmaney
and where flown over.
i think they had lots of holy leaves and the smell of food and herbs would be the smell and it would probably be decorated with any hunting catches the had got like a deer's head.
ReplyDelete