Category Archives: Holidays

Candlemas: End of Christmastide

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Ruth

The formal end of the holiday season was Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation or Purification. It commemorated the day when, according to Jewish law, Mary presented herself at the Temple for ritual purification. It was 33 days after a … Continue reading →

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Twelfth Night Parties

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Ruth

Christmastide lasted for twelve days, just as in the song. The Twelfth Night also commemorated Epiphany, the coming of the Magi to see Jesus. Its celebration required a feast that, over time, accumulated some unique customs. Twelfth Night parties required … Continue reading →

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Medieval Hanukkah: Food and Light

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Ruth

Hanukkah celebrates the recovery of Jerusalem and rededication (chanukkah) of the Temple in 164 BC. The Maccabees, priests who also served as secular rulers, discovered that the holy oil had been profaned, with only enough pure oil left for one … Continue reading →

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Christmas: Yule and Evergreens

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Ruth

When Pope Gregory first sent Latin missionaries to the outer northern wilds of Europe, he instructed them to make it easy for converts. If they were used to gathering on a hilltop somewhere on a certain day, find a saint’s … Continue reading →

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Advent Fasting: Fish

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Ruth

The chief issue in fasts was to avoid all animal products, so most obviously, meat was right out. Fish, on the other hand, was okay for some reason. I don’t think there’s any real logic to it, though maybe others … Continue reading →

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Advent Begins

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Ruth

Advent, in Latin “the coming,” was the time of mental preparation for trying to experience, emotionally, the birth of Jesus. In monasteries, it would have been a sober, thoughtful time. In secular life, it was still officially a fast, though … Continue reading →

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November Holidays

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Ruth

This is a break from the Muslim history series for the month of December, 2022. Feast days were the points around which illiterate people organized their sense of time. In November, they had Martinmas (St. Martin of Tours) and Catterntide … Continue reading →

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May Dramas

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Ruth

May Day may have been an idea common to the Celts and the Germanics. It was Beltane to the Celts; I don’t think I know a name for a pagan Germanic day, other than just May Day. This day marked … Continue reading →

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The Mummers’ Story (such as it is)

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Ruth

We think that Mumming happened in other parts of early Germanic or Celtic Europe too, but it really hung on in England, so that’s where we go to study it. We only have written descriptions of Mumming scripts since the … Continue reading →

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The Splendor of Karakorum, 1251

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Ruth

In 1251, the Mongol Empire went through an internal coup. Temujin’s son Ögedei had died in 1241, and his widow got their son Güyük installed as Great Khan. But when Güyük died and his widow tried to do as her mother … Continue reading →

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