How Did the Tudors Celebrate Christmas?

What was Christmas like at the royal court of England during the Tudor Era? The answer is simple. It would have been utterly astounding. 

If there was one thing King Henry VIII was good at, it was spending money. Not only did he welcome over 1,000 guests for Christmas, but he also spent the equivalent of 13 million pounds on his celebrations. That equaled an entire year’s tax revenue, all paid out to provide the finest food, masques, pageantry, entertainment, hospitality, and gifts that he had to offer.

In this article, we will attempt to find out more about the Yuletide festivities held annually at the court of King Henry VIII. Let us take a few moments out of our own Christmas celebrations to reimagine those of the Tudors.

If you happen to be the sort of person who despairs at the sight of a Christmas tree in October or rolls their eyes at the sudden appearance of a Christmas advert in November, Christmas in Tudor England may seem to you a heavenly prospect. During the 16th century, there would be no singing, no feasting, no dancing, no decorating, and strictly no merriment at all until the appropriate time. The appropriate time was the night of Christmas Eve—on the 24th of December—and not a moment before.

Just as they are in the 21st century, the weeks leading up to Christmas were known as Advent. The idea of Advent was developed in Rome sometime during the early 7th century. Pope Gregory I is best remembered for composing the many prayers, antiphons, and psalm responses associated with the season.

The season of Advent was a time of fasting, prayer, solemnity, and spiritual preparation for the significant events that lay ahead. The seriousness with which the Tudors observed the season of Advent is a reminder that Christmas was predominantly celebrated as a religious feast, to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

Of all of the rules regarding Advent, fasting was the most important and the best established. It was Bishop Perpetuus of Tours (who lived some eleven centuries earlier) who originally ordered that certain foods should not be consumed during the run-up to Christmas. Not only should Tudor men and women refrain from eating meat, cheese, and eggs, but also from playing games, dancing, and even engaging in amorous activities.

This time of sacrifice would help the Tudors to prepare their souls for the festivities yet to come. It was thought that the upcoming banqueting and entertainment would be better enjoyed after the restrictions of Advent. Celebrations would begin with the decorating of the house, but only on the evening before Christmas Day.

These days, decorating one’s household is an integral part of Christmas for people all over the world. This was no different in the 16th century. Although their idea of a perfectly decorated home may seem different from ours, their idea of bringing the beauty of the outdoors inside was a central theme. Which of us can say we have not welcomed trees, greenery, and even woodland creatures to spend Christmas in our living rooms?

During the early years of his reign, King Henry VIII liked to spend Christmas at Greenwich Palace, just as he had done as a young child. He later moved his celebrations to the bigger and much more luxurious palace of Hampton Court. In neither of these palaces would a Christmas tree have been sighted in the Great Hall.

However, the whole Palace would have been filled with the aroma of wintery plants. Evergreen leaves and sprigs of holly and ivy were some of the most popular choices. Holly was considered the typical man’s plant, whilst ivy was for girls. If a Manor House or Palace was adorned with more ivy than holly, the gentlemen were made fun of for being ruled over by the women.

Mistletoe was a firm favorite, too. Kissing under its white berries is thought to be a modern tradition but this could not be further from the truth. The Tudors tied together bunches of mistletoe and named them kissing boughs.

In the houses of poorer folk—the folk who were required to work hard for a living—Christmas greenery would have a more symbolic use than decoration. Leaves were entwined around machinery such as the distaff, a form of spinning wheel, to ensure that the women did no work over the Christmas period.

Despite the beauty and the practical uses provided by holly, ivy, and mistletoe, none of these were the main attractions when it came to choosing a Christmas centerpiece. Without a doubt, the must-have item for any Tudor Christmas was the ancient and infamous Yule Log.

On Christmas Eve, the strongest gentlemen at King Henry VIII’s court would roll in an enormous piece of wood. This piece of wood would be lodged in the fireplace in the banqueting hall and would be burned over the next twelve days. The Yule Log was a much-loved tradition, around which much of the merriment and festivity would revolve.

The American author and folklorist, Linda Watts, explains the origins of the Yule Log: “The familiar custom of burning the Yule Log dates back to the earlier solstice celebrations and tradition of bonfires,” she begins, “the Christmas practice calls for burning a portion of the log each evening until twelfth night.”

A Yule Log would not only be present at the court of King Henry VIII but in every household in the country. Such was the popularity of the Yule Log that all those hosting Christmas celebrations would be obligated to provide one for the pleasure of its guests. Christmases were cold in the Tudor Era—so much so that the River Thames in London would freeze over annually—and so the Yule Log provided some of the heat required to keep the guests warm. Also placed around the house would have been many candles—more so than usual—to light the dark evenings and ensure the festivities continued well into the night.

All decorations were picked and positioned by nightfall on December 24 and remained firmly in place over the twelve days of Christmas.

In King Henry VIII’s time, Christmas was not an endless celebration of unspecified duration, as it sometimes may seem today. During the 16th century, Christmas began on the 25th of December (the Feast of the Nativity of Jesus) and ended on the 5th of January (the night before the Feast of the Epiphany). These days were collectively known as the twelve days of Christmas.

It was King Alfred the Great (who ruled between 871 and 886) who originally established the observance of the twelve days of Christmas in England. He mandated that these days should be kept by everyone in the kingdom. He decreed that all legal proceedings, all work, and all fighting should come to a halt on Christmas Day, and should not restart until the end of the period.

Within the twelve days of Christmas fell several liturgical feasts, all of which were observed with the attendance of a mass. For example, the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist (December the 27th), the Feast of the Holy Innocents (the 28th), the Feast of Saint Thomas Becket (the 29th), and the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus (the 30th).

So far, this all sounds very serious. However, there was much time left over for all kinds of entertainment and activity. All our festive sources agree that fun and frivolity outweighed religious obligation by a long way.

Christmas Carols (Here We Come A-Wassailing) 

To say that the Tudors loved to sing Christmas Carols would be an understatement. They just loved to partake in an activity known as Wassailing, otherwise known as Carol singing.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives two definitions of the term Wassailing. The first: “To drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself in a noisy, lively way.” The second: “To go from house to house singing carols.” Ask any attendant of the Tudor court — they would tell you that either definition would be acceptable.

Although many of our favorite carols were written during the Victorian era, there are many that were composed during the time of King Henry VIII, if not long before. Just a few of these include The Cherry Tree Carol, The Coventry Carol, I Saw A Maiden, The Boar’s Head Carol, O Come Emmanuel, Gaudete, Ding Dong Merrily On High, Good Christian Men Rejoice, and even We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Some of these carols had been sung frequently for many hundreds of years previously.

One of the main points of Christmas in the Tudor Era was that it could be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their financial position. It was the duty not only of the king of England but also of other wealthy nobles, to keep an open house at Christmas. Thanks to this endless Yuletide generosity, servants, tenants, and other less fortunate folk were all able to experience a Christmas fit for royalty.

For example, in the year 1525, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey welcomed a great number of people into his home. The English lawyer and historian, Edward Hall (1496-1547), recorded the event in his chronicles: “The Cardinal in this season lay at the Manor of Richmond, and there kept an open household, to Lords, Ladies, and all the others that would come, with plays and disguisings in a most Royal manner.”

One of the main things that the kings, cardinals, and other nobles provided was an unthinkable amount of food. Some favored dishes included mince pies with real meat inside, plum pudding, marzipan (then known as marchpane) cut into all kinds of beautiful and artistic shapes, various jellies, and even an early form of mulled wine. A creation known as Tudor Christmas Pie was the main event — this consisted of a turkey stuffed with a goose, stuffed with chicken, stuffed with partridge, stuffed with pigeon, all baked within a pastry case.

While dining, all guests would be entertained by a variety of performers including court jesters, acrobats, fire-eaters, jugglers, mummers, fools, and the most talented musicians in England. In between the long periods spent in the banqueting hall, time would be spent hunting, partaking in sports, dancing, socializing, singing, and joining pursuits such as card games and word games.

Although we enjoy the exchange of gifts on Christmas Day, the Tudors would have thought this a silly tradition. It was not Christmas Day, but New Year’s Day that was allocated for the giving and receiving of presents.

At the court of King Henry VIII, many nobles saw this gift-giving as an opportunity to outdo each other. The aim was to present the king and queen with the most valuable, unique, and coveted gift they could afford to buy.

One notable example of Yuletide gift-giving can be found in the letters of the Spanish ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, who retold the events of January 1, 1532. His letter describes how King Henry VIII publicly declined a gift from his wife, Catherine of Aragon. King Henry had promised his wife-to-be, Anne Boleyn, that he would receive nothing from his exiled Queen.

Eustace Chapuys explained that “The King not only refused to accept the present but seemed at first very angry with the gentleman who had undertaken to bring it.” Chapuys admitted that “Two or three hours afterward the King himself desired to see it again and praised much its shape and workmanship.”

To be fair to King Henry VIII, he did a good job not only of receiving gifts but of giving them. He sent each of his friends and servants a small or large piece of silver, the exact amount was determined by nothing other than how much favor each person had accumulated throughout the previous year.

Although it may seem a little unimaginative, this was an extremely generous gesture. From King Henry VIII, the Duke of Suffolk and Norfolk received 20oz of silver and 30oz of silver respectively. It was Cardinal Wolsey’s name that appeared at the top of the inventory. Wolsey received 40oz, more than anyone else on the list.

In the Tudor Era, Twelfth Night was one of the most exciting evenings of the year. It signaled the end of the Christmas celebrations and it was the culmination of the twelve days of Christmas. It was also the night before the 6th of January, otherwise known as The Feast Of The Epiphany or Three Kings Day.

One of the favorite traditions of the Tudors was the electing of a Twelfth Night king or queen, which entailed the temporary but seemingly hilarious role reversal between the king (the highest person in the realm), and a lowly servant. Ultimately, once elected, the Twelfth Night king or queen would preside over the evening of entertainment, wielding an unlimited amount of power for a couple of hours.

The process of election was simple. To prepare for the occasion, a Twelfth Night Cake would have been prepared by the palace chefs. The Twelfth Night Cake was simply the Tudor version of our modern-day Christmas cake. However, the Twelfth Night Cake would have contained one secret item, such as a coin or a bean, hidden within its depths. The cake would be shared around evenly at the banquet, and whoever stumbled upon the item while eating would become king or queen for the night.

The Twelfth Night king or queen would then dictate everything about how the night should be spent, including the games played, the dances danced, the songs sung and the music played. They were affectionately named “The Lord of Misrule,” or “The Lady of Misrule.”

The Tudors were obsessed with the idea of role reversal between the poor and the wealthy and between the powerful and the weak. Another example of such behavior can be found in the tradition of the “boy bishops.”

In each cathedral and church in England, a young boy would be selected to take the place of the actual bishop. After being elected, the child would become known for a short time as the boy bishop and would preside over the Christmas celebrations from Saint Nicholas Day (December 6th), until the Feast of the Holy Innocents (December 28th).

On Saint Nicholas Day, the real Bishop would symbolically give up his post, physically standing down during the reading of the Magnificat. At the words “He hath put down the mighty from their seat,” the bishop would step away from the bishop’s chair. Then, at the words, “and hath exalted the humble and meek,” the boy bishop would acquire the vacant seat.

After the election and the ceremony, the boy would be dressed in the robes of the bishop and provided with a miter and crozier of his own. He would then be paraded around the town or city in order to show himself to his people and grant blessings to his parish. The boy bishop would also take possession of the cathedral and perform all official duties, including the delivery of the Christmas Day sermon.

William Shakespeare’s famous comedy, originally known as What You Will, was later titled Twelfth Night. This is not a recommendation from Shakespeare about when to perform the play, but instead a suggestion of the many role reversals, particularly between the noblemen and the servants, which occur frequently within the story.

After stepping back in time and reviewing the most important aspects of a Tudor Christmas holiday, the 21st-century historian may ask the question: were their celebrations really so different from our own? After all, the origins of many of our favorite Christmas traditions lie in the Tudor and Medieval periods, or occasionally even earlier.

In the year 1843, Charles Dickens declared the importance of Christmases gone by in his most famous novel, A Christmas Carol. At the end of the story, after experiencing a life-changing epiphany, Ebeneezer Scrooge delivers his most heartwarming speech: “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year,” declares Scrooge, “I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”