We would be glad to accept your support for Advientos project. Thank you!
Window nº 24
Our final day together! What a blast it's been, finding these little gems and fun bits of holiday goodness. For our final day, a poem.
George Wither was a late Renaissance satirist and poet, and he wrote this Christmas Carol in the early 17th century. It paints a lovely picture of what the holiday would have been like for people four or five hundred years ago. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Twelfth Night!
George Wither
A Christmas Carol
So now is come our joyful feast,
Let every man be jolly;
Each room with ivy leaves is dressed,
And every post with holly.
Though some churls at our mirth repine,
Round your foreheads garlands twine,
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,
And let us all be merry.
Now all our neighbors' chimnies smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning;
Their ovens they with baked meats choke,
And all their spits are turning.
Without the door let sorrow lie,
And if for cold it hap to die,
We'll bury it in a Christmas pie,
And evermore be merry.
Now every lad is wondrous trim,
And no man minds his labor;
Our lasses have provided them
A bagpipe and a tabor.
Young men and maids, and girls and boys,
Give life to one another's joys;
And you anon shall by their noise
Perceive that they are merry.
Rank misers now do sparing shun,
Their hall of music soundeth;
And dogs thence with whole shoulders run,
So all things aboundeth.
The country-folk themselves advance,
For crowdy-mutton's come out of France;
And Jack shall pipe and Jill shall dance,
And all the town be merry.
Ned Swatch hath fetched his bands from pawn,
And all his best apparel;
Brisk Nell hath bought a ruff of lawn
With droppings of the barrel.
And those that hardly all the year
Had bread to eat or rags to wear,
Will have both clothes and dainty fare,
And all the day be merry.
Now poor men to the justices
With capons make their errands;
And if they hap to fail of these,
They plague them with their warrants.
But now they feed them with good cheer,
And what they want they take in beer,
For Christmas comes but once a year,
And then they shall be merry.
Good farmers in the country nurse
The poor, that else were undone;
Some landlords spend their money worse,
On lust and pride at London.
There the roisters they do play,
Drab and dice their land away,
Which may be ours another day;
And therefore let's be merry.
The client now his suit forbears,
The prisoner's heart is eased;
The debtor drinks away his cares,
And for the time is pleased.
Though others' purses be more fat,
Why should we pine or grieve at that;
Hang sorrow, care will kill a cat,
And therefore let's be merry.
Hark how the wags abroad do call
Each other forth to rambling;
Anon you'll see them in the hall,
For nuts and apples scrambling;
Hark how the roofs with laughters sound,
Anon they'll think the house goes round;
For they the cellar's depths have found,
And there they will be merry.
The wenches with their wassail-bowls
About the streets are singing;
The boys are come to catch the owls,
The wild mare in is bringing.
Our kitchen boy hath broke his box,
And to the dealing of the ox
Our honest neighbors come by flocks,
And here they will be merry.
Now kings and queens poor sheep-cotes have,
And mate with everybody;
The honest now may play the knave,
And wise men play at noddy.
Some youths will now a mumming go,
Some others play at rowland-hoe,
And twenty other gameboys moe;
Because they will be merry.
Then wherefore in these merry days
Should we, I pray, be duller?
No, let us sing some roundelays
To make our mirth the fuller.
And whilst we thus inspired sing,
Let all the streets with echoes ring;
Woods, and hills, and everything
Bear witness we are merry.
4 cups honey
1 lb. unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tbs. each ginger & cinnamon
1 tsp. ground white pepper
pinch saffron
whole cloves
Bring the honey to a boil and skim off any scum. Keeping the pan over very low heat, stir in the breadcrumbs and spices. When it is a thick, well-blended mass (add more bread crumbs if necessary), remove from heat & let cool slightly, then lay out on a flat surface & press firmly into an evenly shaped square or rectangle, about 3/4 of an inch thick. Let cool, then cut into small squares to serve. Garnish each square by sticking a whole clove in the top center.
This is a day to remember those less fortunate as well. According to one source, in medieval times the nuns would deposit baskets of food and clothing anonymously at the homes of the needy overnight on December 6.
"Minced pies were enjoyed by Tudors from the lowliest peasants to the King and his court. Minced pies were made with thirteen ingredients to represent Christ an his apostles. Below is a traditional minced pie recipes. Often times, pies were shaped like a crib (to represent the Christ child) or decorated with a crib or infant child (like the image to the right).
Traditional Tudor Minced Pies
1 cup lamb (minced)
1/2 cup veal (minced)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1 cup currants
1 orange (both zest and juice)
1/2 lemon (both zest and juice)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup dates
Individual Pie Crusts
Mix ingredients. Cover and let sit overnight. Place filling in Pie Crusts. Place extra crust on top of each pie (you can cut top crust into fun Christmas shapes). Dust with egg yolk. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 mins or until golden brown.
Meat was the main course of any Christmas feast. For peasants, poultry or game would have to suffice. However, for the rich, Swan, Peacock, and a Boar's Head were eaten. The first Christmas Turkey in England dates from the early 1520's, and was served to none other than King Henry VIII himself.
Though expensive, Queen Elizabeth ordered that every household in England should eat goose as part of their Christmas Feast in 1588, as it was the first meal she enjoyed after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Needless to say, many of the Queen's poorer subjects had to settle for much smaller and less expensive game.
Presentation was extremely important in Tudor England. When meat, such as swan or peacock, was cooked, the skin and feathers were removed, then replaced once the bird had finished roasting, leaving the bird to look as if it had never been cooked!"