A MID-15TH-CENTURY carol attributed to Richard Smart, rector of Plymtree in Devon, had 'Sir Christemas' announcing the birth of Christ and inviting his audience to drink and make good cheer and be right merry and sing with us now joyfully. Nowell! Nowell!'. It is the first documented mention of a metaphorical character in charge of the festivities, the patriarch, who would eventually become our Father Christmas, although the use of Nowel (with one 'l' and derived from old French) was first recorded in English in the 14th century by Chaucer in The Franklin's Tale.
During the Tudor and Stuart periods, the seasonal proceedings were presided over by a variety of figures, including the Lord of Misrule ('All hail the Lord of Misrule', January 4), who re-echoed the chaos of Saturnalia, the old Roman seven-day role-changing romp. Popular pageants featured Captain Christmas or Prince Christmas, with feasting and entertainment in grand houses, university colleges and the Inns of Court being conducted by the Christmas Lord. Except for tending to animals, work on the land ceased from December 25 to January 6-marking the 12 days of Christmas. For the privileged, many seasonal features we embrace today were introduced at this time, including carols, personal gifts, mince pies (with 13 ingredients representing Christ and his apostles) and recognition of the Greek and pagan mistletoe fertility ritual. Henry VIII sampled turkey, as well as the traditional boar's head and goose.
Denne historien er fra December 06, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 06, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
