A Medieval Christmas

So what about a medieval Christmas? How different was it to the Christmas we celebrate today? What did they eat for Christmas dinner in medieval times? So many questions! Well, here is a quick insight which might reveal at least a few answers ....

First of all, Christmas in medieval Europe, especially in medieval England was entirely different to anything we might be familiar with today.

According to research the term "Cristes Maesse" was first seen in print in England in 1038 just before the Norman Conquest. When in 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey London, he chose Christmas Day for the ceremony.

As for what people ate for dinner on Christmas Day, it was definitely not turkey as the bird was only introduced to Europe from America which itself was not discovered until the late 15th century. Basically, a medieval Christmas dinner was usually only enjoyed by the wealthy class, the landowners. Traditionally they ate goose and sometimes woodcock and occasionally, though rarely because of needing royal permission, they would eat swan. Most poor people did not enjoy such luxuries; if they had any money at all they might be offered a ready-cooked bird (usually goose) for a few pennies by the church. Mince pies are a tradition that dates back to medieval times in fact though real meat was used in those days - the mince pie recipe using fruit and spices as we eat today was handed down to us by the Victorians.

Read more about medieval castle food and drink in medieval times.

Whatever you do this Christmas .... we wish you a happy one!

All of us at www.medieval-castle.com would like to thank you, our readers, for visiting our blog and the website during 2008. We hope you have enjoyed the experience and will continue to revisit and enjoy our new posts and new website pages as we continue to grow and expand our coverage of all things medieval.