The NSW Branch of the Richard III Society wishes all its readers, friends and members a very happy new year.
Like with Christmas before, I was wondering what Richard III and his family would have done on New Year’s Eve. Fireworks, champagne and ‘Auld Lang Syne’? Well, not quite. For starters ‘Auld Lang Syne’ was only written by Robert Burns in 1788 (1). At that time fireworks were well established in England as Georg Friedrich Händel’s ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’, composed in 1749 (2), shows, though they do go back to 12th century China and have been recorded in Europe since 1258 (3). Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas, Medieval Life, Richard III
The NSW Branch of the Richard III Society wishes all our readers, friends and members a very happy Christmas.
The preparations for the holiday season lead us to consider what Richard’s Christmas would have been like, whether it would have been anything like ours.
You would have looked in vain for a Christmas tree in Richard’s family home at Middleham Castle. For many cultures green branches have symbolised new life and hope for a long time, however, the first record of a Christmas tree can only be found in 1521, in Germany. The first record for candles on a Christmas tree dates from 1611, when Duchess Dorothea Sybilla of Silesia is reported to have decorated her tree in that way (1). While it seems that the Christmas tree was introduced to the British royal family by the early 1800s, its use only became widespread in Queen Victoria’s time (2).
And Richard’s son Edward would not have anticipated the arrival of Santa Claus with impatience. Santa Claus is based on St Nicholas (3) (whose feast day is 6 December, when he leaves sweets and little presents in the shoes of German children). However, Santa Claus is the predominantly American term for the figure called Father Christmas in England. His association with Christmas can in Britain only be traced back to the 17th century (4). While we see Christmas above all as a time for the family to celebrate together, in medieval times it was a time for communities to celebrate together (5). Nor would the cook at Middleham have served turkey, these were only introduced into Europe from America in the 1520s, and the first record in England dates from 1541 (6). As you can see, Richard’s Christmas would have been quite different from what we see as typical today. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas, Medieval Life, Richard III
Our final meeting for the year and our Christmas party was held on the 12th December. First, we welcomed Jennie, a visitor from England. Further discussion was held on the design of the Australasian flag which will be a distinctive item along with our wreath at Sutton Cheney church. This matter will be resolved after consultation with the other Australasian branches. Our Secretary Julia spoke about next year’s speakers and their topics, and about the mini-conference to be held in May.
Our guest speaker was Chairperson Judith Hughes, who spoke on the topic ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ – the real meaning behind this popular carol, as well as an overview of medieval Christmas customs. After this most interesting talk, we held our party – complete with Christmas cake prepared by Julia, and our ‘bring and buy’ table did good business.
The final part of the meeting was a game of scattergories. A Scrabble tile is chosen and a sheet filled in with a person’s name of that letter, a town, river, battle and cathedral. As usual, Kevin our Social Secretary prevailed.
Our Society has enjoyed a successful year and all members are looking forward to the next meeting in February.
Merry Christmas to all.
Tags: Christmas, Medieval Life, NSW Branch
