Here's the info for my super-talented friend and colleague, Brigitte Webster: www.tudorexperience.com; FB: Tudor & 17th Century Experience; Twitter: @tudorfoodrecipe; Insta: tudor_experience. Also on YouTube! Definitely check these. out! She's amazing!

The Tudors did their holidays the same way they did everything else: BIG. This is especially true of the two most famous Tudor monarchs: Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. But all the Tudors were eager to celebrate Christmastide in style, to use it as a time to show favor and reward loyalty, to give and to receive remarkable gifts, and to mark another successful and grand year (never mind whatever problems were bubbling below the surface). For the Tudors, Christmas was a highlight of the year. It was a time of feasting on especially grand dishes, of dancing and singing, of enjoying the antics of the Lord of Misrule and special holiday revels and entertainments, and of showing off. Oh, and of course going to church. 

So let’s travel back to the Twelve Days of a Tudor Christmas. 

Medieval Traditions

The Tudors form a bit of a bridge from the Medieval to the Early Modern (or what we often call “Renaissance”) age. Much of Tudor life has both Medieval and Early Modern elements. That’s very true of Christmas. The Tudors practiced and modified Medieval traditions, which had themselves changed over the years. So when we talk about a Tudor Christmas, you’ll recognize several Medieval elements. And you’ll see things that carried on into Victorian times and even to today!

Pope Julius I decreed December 25 the official day to celebrate the birth of Christ in the fourth century. The end of December was already a time of celebration, and it was the date of winter solstice in the Roman calendar. So pagan rituals and existing traditions were incorporated into early Christian celebrations of Christmas. As time went on, these traditions grew more and more associated with Christmas, and now we think of the Yule log, feasting, and dancing as Christmas traditions.

The Tudors certainly made the most of these traditions. Families in Tudor times carried on decorating their homes with holly and ivy. They brought in mistletoe and often shaped it into the double ring under which couples could kiss. Tudor lords opened their great manors for members of the village, inviting in members of the village to partake of a special meal. Common families indulged in meat, pastries, fruit, and other specialties over Christmas that they wouldn’t see for the rest of the year. The holiday lasted for twelve days, from December 25 to Twelfth Night in January. It was a time people stopped working, spent more time in church, visited families, enjoyed entertainment, and shared gifts.

But, there are things that stand out about a Tudor Christmas. Let’s take a look, monarch by monarch.

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Henry Tudor staked the claim for the Tudor dynasty on Christmas day in 1483, swearing before an assembled company of English nobles who had joined him in France that he would marry Elizabeth of York and take the throne of England. It was an audacious claim. After all, Henry was a distant claimant to the throne, a descendant of John of Gaunt’s mistress-turned-wife Katherine Swynford and not accepted by everyone as a legitimate heir. There were other Yorkists, as well as Buckinghams, Nevilles, de la Poles, and more who could also claim the throne. Furthermore, Henry had spent the last 14 years on the continent in exile and had never established a network of supporters at the royal court. And, at the moment, Richard III seemed firmly established as king.

But Richard III had detractors, and Henry Tudor had a bold streak that defied convention. So he made the promise in 1483. And just four years later, even he must have been amazed at all that had happened. By Christmas 1487, Henry Tudor had technically “invaded” England and defeated Richard III at Bosworth. He had been crowned King of England. He had married Elizabeth of York. She had born him a son, making a strong case for a lasting dynasty. That son had turned a year old, healthy and growing strong. Elizabeth had been crowned Queen of England in November. And so Henry and Elizabeth and Prince Arthur celebrated Christmas 1487 at Greenwich, a far cry from a small church and an exile’s boastful promise.

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York had a political marriage that turned into a strong relationship. They had one tradition that wasn’t followed by other Tudors. For the traditional New Year’s Day gift exchange (because Tudor gifts were exchanged on New Year’s Day), financial records indicate that Elizabeth paid servants to bring their gifts to them in their Privy Chamber. In other words, receiving gifts was a small, private tradition for them. This would change dramatically in the reigns of their son Henry VIII and granddaughter Elizabeth I, for whom the exchange of gifts was a public and political occasion. The choice of Henry VII and Elizabeth to maintain some privacy might have contributed to theirs being by far the most successful Tudor marriage (at least in my opinion).

Henry VIII

Henry VIII was always a big king.  Early in his reign he was slender but tall, towering over most of the court. And he became gigantic by the end. He did things in a big way. And Christmas was no exception. His first year as king, he spent nearly the entire year’s tax revenues on celebrating Christmas, paying for food, entertainments, and gifts. He was determined right from the start to do things in a grander way than his father had. His first Christmas court was an “open court,” which meant that members of the public (at least those who could afford the clothing that qualified them) were able to come to court uninvited. Records estimate that more than 1,000 people visited Henry VIII’s first Christmas open court.

We know a bit about that Christmas from the financial records. The king paid someone named Wynnesbury to be Lord of Misrule that year. The king must have like the job Wynnesbury did—his name appears in subsequent years as well. One year, the king ordered revels to be held at Greenwich for Christmas and included an order for special hose for the king and Charles Brandon to put over their hose. Apparently, the two of them dressed alike for some of the reveling.  There’s a softer side than we usually see to Henry VIII at Christmas—several years, he pays the Children of the Chapel to sing “Gloria in Excelsis,” for the Christmas service. So that might have been his favorite Christmas song.

Henry VIII was all about the show. In his reign, there was none of this private receiving of gifts. Instead, the king arranged for long tables to hold the gifts after they were presented to him in public. So if you were a courtier or an ambassador or a noble who wanted to gain favor with the king, you needed to provide a gift that would outshine the others on the table. So what do you get for the king who has for more than you could ever hope to have? We know some of the gifts the king received because four gift rolls from Henry VIII’s reign survive: 1528, 1532, 1534, and 1539. I got to see one of these displayed at Folger Shakespeare Library, and it was amazing. It’s a list of every gift the king received and every gift the king gave in a specific year. There are several of these that survive from Elizabeth I’s reign, and I’ll talk about them in a minute.

So, thanks to the Historic Royal Palaces blog, we know a bit about Henry VIII New Year’s gifts. He usually received about 150 gifts, and he gave about that many in return. Money was one of the most common gifts—although it might not seem personal to us, it was practical and its value was immediately obvious. And as Henry VIII was known as a big spender, it was a gift he was sure to appreciate.

The first gift of the morning was received from the queen. That caused quite a stir in 1532. Henry had officially separated from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. He had made Anne Boleyn Marquess of Pembroke and had taken her with him to meet with Francis I on his latest official visit. It was Anne Boleyn who was seated next to him in the Great Hall. She might not be queen yet, but he felt he had made his preference clear. And just to make certain there wouldn’t be any trouble, he had forbidden Katherine of Aragon to write or send him anything.

But Katherine had game. She sent the king a fine gold cup adorned with jewels. She still considered herself the king’s true wife, not to mention Queen of England, and of course she would send a gift. So there he was, in front of everyone, with Anne Boleyn watching: what would he do?  If he refused the cup, it would offend Katherine right in front of ambassadors from Spain. But if he took it, he would seem to be accepting Katherine as his wife, and that was something he would not do. He had to return the gift. But if he did it too quickly, she might send it back again! He dismissed the gift and instructed that it be returned later in the day. Then he quickly turned to the gift exchange with Anne Boleyn.

This was a happier part of the event, as Anne had given the king boar spears, something he is reported to have very much appreciated. And Henry made a clear statement of his matrimonial state of mind when he gave Anne bed hangings. This was an intimate gift and reinforced that he had already decided to marry her and make her queen. In fact, since their first child was born less than nine months later, Anne may have already been pregnant. Of course, that didn’t work out quite like he intended. Even though Henry VIII thrived in the spotlight, he might have been better off if he had adopted some of his parents’ interest in privacy.

Edward VI

One way Edward changed Christmas was through his Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551. This mandates that everyone in the country must walk to a Christian Church on Christmas Day. Some people say that it has not officially been repealed, so it’s still in effect. Considering how much feasting happened on Christmas Day and throughout the holiday, a mandated walk is probably not a bad idea.

Edward was determined to extend his father’s efforts at religious reform quite dramatically. He took John Calvin as his model instead of Henry VIII and worked with his like-minded advisors to rid England of the Catholic mass and its related iconography. The 1552 Act of Uniformity ordered the removal of Catholic images. Royal officials supervised the whitewashing of wall-paintings and the defacing of images of saints. Even nativity scenes were removed from churches.

So when people went to Christmas services during Edward’s reign, the entire experience was far different from years past. The service was in English rather than Latin, and it came from Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer. For a country that was not generally as committed to this level of reform, the experience must have been quite jarring.

In other ways, however, Edward and his councilors added to the Christmas celebrations. The powerful John Dudley, who had previously worked with the Duke of Somerset, toppled Somerset from power and took over as Lord President of the King’s Council in 1551. Now Duke of Northumberland, Dudley realized he needed to do something to distract the king and the court from the fact that Somerset was in prison awaiting execution as a traitor. He would be the second of Edward’s uncles to be executed. So Dudley doubled down on the Lord of Misrule.

He appointed George Ferrers Lord of Misrule and instructed Sir Thomas Cawarden, Master of the Revels, to help him create a spectacle for the holidays. Records indicate that the Christmas seasons of 1551 and 52 took the tradition to new heights. The Lord of Misrule entered the city with a procession that mimicked the monarch’s entry. A large following of jugglers, tumblers, a master of requests, friars, a philosopher, and more trooped behind the Lord of Misrule. Even children were invited to join the procession. This festivity carried into court and the king’s presence. It’s impossible to know if Dudley was successful in distracting the court from politics, but he certainly gave them a good time.

Mary I

Mary I was as dedicated to religion as Edward had been. But their religions were different. After years of reform, Mary sought to lead the English people back into what she considered the safe and saving arms of the Pope and Catholic Europe. Mary’s efforts were obvious during the Christmas season.

Mary instructed church services to return to Latin liturgy. The mass was reinstated across the country. Parishes were encouraged to display any hidden icons that had survived Edward’s reign, and people were encouraged to display Christmas cribs and nativity scenes. 

Mary I also revived the practice of Boy Bishops, which had been abolished by Henry VIII in 1542. The tradition was that on 6 December, the Feast of St. Nicholas was observed by a boy being elected bishop. The real bishop would step down, and the boy would take his place until Holy Innocents’ Day (28 December). The boy bishop would be dressed in robes and miter and attended by several boy priests. In small towns, they would typically go from house to house, blessing the people. During the early Middle Ages, the practice seems to have been confined to cathedrals, but the tradition spread to parishes through the country. It was a popular custom, not just in England but also in Europe.

Like the rest of Mary’s attempts to return the country to Catholicism, the tradition of boy bishops was reversed when Elizabeth came to the throne. 

Elizabeth I

Several gift rolls survive from the reign of Elizabeth I, and they tell us that this was a women who loved gifts. She really enjoyed receiving them,  she seemed to like giving them, and she made good use of regifting them when the mood suited her. So let’s look at a few of the stories of Elizabeth I and her New Year’s gifts.

One thing Elizabeth received was food. Known for her sweet tooth, the queen was likely pleased when sweet treats came in as holiday gifts. I want to give a big shout-out to my friend and colleague Brigitte Webster of Tudor Experience for sharing her Tudor food expertise with me. She has a bunch of fun info on her website and YouTube videos, so I’ll put her info in the show notes. Brigitte told me that Elizabeth I once received a pair of quinces and a chessboard made from marchpane from her master cook, as well as boxes of sweetmeats and crystalized fruit from her Clerk of the Spicery. Continuing along this theme, the queen received a great pie from the Sergeant of the Pastry and three boxes of ginger candy and orange candy from Morgan the Apothecary. No wonder the queen had rotten teeth!

Of course, Elizabeth liked other gifts as well. In 1571, she received an arm clock from BFF Robert Dudley. It is described as a jeweled armlet with a clock enclosed, along with a fair diamond and other jewels, including the queen’s favorite—a pearl. This seems to be the first wrist-watch to appear in England. In 1580, Sir Philip Sidney sought to gain the queen’s forgiveness with his New Year’s gift. He had not been appropriately supportive of her plans to marry the Duke of Anjou and had made the queen angry. So he sent a lavish jeweled ship as her New Year’s gift. It worked—Elizabeth received the gift and forgave him.

Elizabeth was not above regifting, and this is all recorded in the official gift rolls as well. Here’s my favorite example. In addition to other gifts for Dudley, there is this notation of a gift from the queen: “To Lord Robert Dudley, Master of the Horse: one gilt bowl, given to the queen by Sir Henry Jernegan that same day.” We can only hope Sir Henry had already left the hall before his gift to the queen was shifted off to Dudley’s coffers!

There’s a legend that the queen asked Shakespeare to write Twelfth Night for her holiday revels. There is a recorded performance of a comedy for the queen’s Twelfth Night celebration in 1601. The plays first publicly recorded performance is February 2. We don’t know for sure, but we do know the. Tudor Christmas ended with Twelfth Night celebrations, a world turned upside down and inside out. And that’s where we’ll end today.

Thank you for joining me for a Tudor Christmas! Next week, we’ll jump ahead and see what the Victorians are up to.