Christmas was a very different occurrence in the middle ages, compared to what it is today. History has shaped how we celebrate Christmas. It has also seen which traditions we have kept, gained and lost throughout history.
Our modern Christmas has only been present in recent history. You can learn about how modern Christmas was created in recent history by the Victorians, in this blog. Christmas in the middle ages was very different to what it is today. There were no glowing electric lights, no Santa Clause, no Christmas Cracker, Christmas cards or even Christmas turkey. It was only with the Victorians did people start eating turkey at Christmas. The medieval Christmas feast was quite different. The medieval Christmas feast was different for poor people in the medieval era and rich people in the medieval era. Poor people in the medieval era weren't allowed to eat the meats that rich people could eat. Whereas, for rich people in the medieval era, they would eat meats such as goose or venison.
Another common food in the medieval era was eating mince pies. Eating mince pies were not what you eat today. In medieval times, people ate mince pies with real meat, along with fruit.
For the poor in medieval times, they would eat what was know as umble pie, which translates into humble pie today. The typical medieval Christmas feast was different for both poor people and rich people, compared to what it is today. Christmas was much more of a religious holiday in this historical era. Things such as mass, carols and going to mass, were the main celebrations. Even at that, Christmas wasn't nearly as important as it is today. It was the Epiphany on the 6th of January, which was the main celebration. This changed later on in the medieval when Christmas became the main celebration. Medieval Christmas decorations were quite limited, to what they were in later historical eras. Medieval Christmas decorations were simple, such as holly, evergreens and placing apples on trees - the latter be outside. It wasn't until the Victorian era that indoor Christmas trees became a part of our celebrations. In many ways, if we travelled back in time to this historical era, the middle ages at Christmas time, we'd probably not really realise it was Christmas. Sources: http://www.historyextra.com/feature/medieval/medieval-christmas-how-was-it-celebrated http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/A-Medieval-Christmas/
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