Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

It never cease to be amazed by how much of our modern culture is directly inherited from the interesting medieval culture of the middle ages and one of the places this can most strongly be seen is in our christmas and holiday traditions. Hundreds of years after the middle ages many of the traditions are still with us today.

Christmas and the holidays in modern times are an interesting amalgam from many different periods of time, religions and cultures as they met, clashed, intertwined and influenced each other. Among these cultures are the pagans, druids, christians, and romans.

Many of our holiday traditions are of course tied into christianity and christian beliefs but many of the traditions are also tied into the conditions of life in the middle ages and in particular the difficulties of life in winter and from this we get the christmas tree.

The Christmas Tree - Pagans, Druids and christians all held evergreen trees in very high esteem as something almost magical. This is probably due to the fact that during the deepest and coldest parts of winter it still held its green. It was a true display of life even in the difficult winter season. It was a strong symbol of life and a reminder that spring would come again.

Gift Giving - The actual roots of this tradition may be lost to history but it is widely believed that gift giving started out on the 12th night (Jan6) as a reminder and homage of the gifts that the Magi brought to the christ child.

Holiday Banquets and parties - It is natural to assume that big religious holidays were celebrated by meals and feasts and every year this probably grew. The earliest known big banquet was that of William the Conquerer in 1066. He threw an enormous celebration bash on christmas day, which was his coronation day.

 The Christmas season holidays have been around for a very long time and they are an amalgam of different cultures and very significant in that they were an way for people, families, and cultures to celebrate life and pick their spirits up during the difficult winter months.