Happy Christmas! Christmas in the Tudor period saw the end of the fasting season of Advent, a period of quiet and meditation on the coming birth of Jesus. Henry VIII was one of the first people to introduce turkey to the Christmas table, as it was first brought to England in the 1520’s, and Henry enjoyed it.
This is the day when the celebrations would begin, with the first day of Christmas, ending in the Epiphany, or Twelfth Night celebrations on January 6. Interestingly, the use of X as an abbreviation for Christ, which comes from the Greek lettering, was first commonly used in the 16th century, though its use in English dates back to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle when intelligent monks would use the abbreviation to show off their Greek skills. However you are celebrating today, I hope you’re having a wonderful day.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on Tudor Christmas celebrations.
Suggested links:
Episode 008: Christmas celebrations in Tudor England
Supplemental: Tudor Christmas Carols
From the shop:
Tudorholic Collection
Featuring: Tudorholic Mug
Want more Tudor in your life? Join the Tudor Learning Circle - the only social network devoted solely to Tudor History. Sign up free at TudorLearningCircle.com! And why not Tudorfy your YouTube algorithm by getting exclusive videos and content on Heather's YouTube channel!
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.