) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. A medieval Christmas 3. A scant medieval Christmas quiz 4. Christmas potpourri: Did you know ...? If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraph… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur ancestors or any of the 81+ variant spellings we research that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. Our home is Bower Community, located at <http://bowercommunity.com>. There, we currently have two sites: The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our primary homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://bowercommunity.com/homestead>. Smaller and just opened this year, our sister site, the Bower Cottage, houses most of our projects including an online GEDCOM fed by quite a few cousins from our lists. The Cottage is still small as far as material goes, however give us time and we'll have it filled really soon. The Cottage is at <http://bowercommunity.com/cottage>. A MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS Most of you know my penchant for the Middle Ages, (noticed my e-mail address, did you?) :) so this particular piece should come as no surprise to anyone. We've seen over the past three weeks how many of our modern day Christmas evolved from ancient to Victorian customs and traditions. But, let's step back in time to learn a little more. Most of the customs discussed below are from England, however, some were common throughout Europe. It was not until the late middle ages that the celebration of the birth of Christ began to receive any major amount of recognition. Until then, the more popular festival was the celebration of the Twelfth Night, originally a pagan observance which persisted into the Christian era. In the 12th century, the focus changed from local saints to the Holy Family. Over the period of several centuries, emphasis on the nativity in the cycle plays lead to a rise in interest in Christmas itself. Fourteenth and fifteenth century cycle plays, presented in English towns by local guilds on or about Corpus Christi day (a movable feast sometime between May 21 and June 24) focused on the life of Christ and sometimes included elaborate stagings of the nativity. Thus began the first widespread popularization of the Christmas story in England. The first Christmas carols were also connected to the performance of these plays. We don't normally think of Christmas as a midsummer tradition, but this, indeed, was its roots. Yule became synonymous with Christmas, and customs such the Yule log and decorating with evergreens, despite their non-Christian origins, became associated with this holiday as well. Holly, ivy, laurel, and other evergreens began to be used as metaphors for the infant Christ. Gifts were given between neighbors and families. Wreaths were used as decor. In the 16th century, garlands of evergreens were sometimes placed around wire hoops; three of these would then be placed together to form a sort of ball, which was then hung. However, decorated trees were not included in the tradition until much later. Throughout the Christmas season there was an innate sense of good cheer and well being. Houses were opened to friends and neighbors and various celebratory customs occurred. One of the most popular customs being "mumming," in which revelers put on masks and accompanied minstrels traveling from house to house. Another custom (practiced particularly in the universities) during this time was the appointment of the Lord of Misrule. This appointment seemed to follow earlier pagan rituals. The Lord of Misrule dressed ostentatiously and led revelers on wild nighttime processions through the town. However, churchmen had their own form of this custom--the appointment of a young boy as bishop for the holiday season. As you may have noticed, the holiday season was well-known for role reversal. In fact, the custom of lords serving their servants for a day was quite common. Christmas conjures up images of a host of culinary delights and treats to everyone and it wasn't much different during the Middle Ages. There was no specific and detailed menu on what should or should not be eaten at Christmas. Much of the festivity that revolved around food was not in what was being offered, but in how it was offered, the quantities that were available, and in the act of sharing a meal and eating together. The two longest and most important fasts were Advent and Lent, which ushered in the greatest feasts of the year ~ Christmas and Easter. The season of Advent covered a span of about four weeks and always contained four Sundays. Advent begins on the first of these, Advent Sunday, and this day marks the start of the ecclesiastical year. It is a period of preparation for Christmas, a time when man tries to turn over a new leaf and start again. One 15th sermon writer points the parallel between the Church and the individual: just as the Church makes a fresh beginning on Advent Sunday, "so owe ye to begynne and renewe youre lfyy." The Advent fast, prohibiting meat, chicken, milk, cheese, butter (virtually all animal products) was THE primary motivation for the festal consumption of food during a Medieval Christmas. Christmas itself ran from Christmas Day up through Epiphany, or Twelfth Day (January 6). Those days leading up to Christmas were the fast, or fish-days of Advent. Fish was eaten in great quantities up to and including Christmas Eve. The rules and standards of food at Christmas time lasted for this entire 12 day period. Medieval cooks came up with a variety of ways to circumvent the restrictions of a fast-day: mock cheese was made out of fish and almond milk, fish was made to taste like meat, etc. And some people relied on extremes in common food beliefs to see them through their fast: beaver tail (a high source of fat & protein) was acceptable as the beaver lived in water, like a fish; ordinary geese were often identified as being the mythical Barnacle Goose by both sellers and consumers alike. The Barnacle Goose, being a product of the ocean, was not a true land-goose and therefore was not restricted. After the round of fast days, the Christmas feast was a virtual explosion of tasty delicacies and treats. As turkey does for us today, a boar's head led every large dinner with accompaniments such as plum pudding, mincemeat pie (with real meat), and such treats as gingerbread, spiced wines, etc. According to household records of the time, venison was a popular meat at Christmas, and possibly represented about 1/4 of all meat eaten. Goose, duck, hen, and an enormous range of fowl and poultry served in or with a variety of sauces; dishes of beef, pork, and rabbit prepared in numerous ways; rich soups and thick pottages and stews; followed by a plethora of sweets and desserts. By Medieval times, the game of the Bean King or Mock King was old enough to be considered "ancient." This was a cake or a loaf of bread which had hidden in it a small object, such as a bean. Whoever found the bean in their portion was proclaimed the Bean King, and presided as a humorous ruler over the Christmas festivities. In some cultures the Bean cake was shaped like a crown and was associated with the Three Wise Kings. The lord was expected to give his tenants a meal, for example bread, cheese, pottage and two dishes of meat. The tenant might be directed to bring his own plate, mug and napkin if he wished there to be a cloth on the table, and a faggot of brushwood of cook his food, unless he wished to have it raw. Lords usually chose this time to bestow gifts upon their servants. A common gift was a new suit of clothes. Several dishes of healthy, tasty food and ale to last a day, along with fuel for cooking and warmth, and candles to light the long evening, was an honored and acceptable gift from the lord to his villeins. At Christmas in 1314 in North Curry, Somerset, three privileged tenants of the manor received two white loaves, a mess of beef and bacon with mustard, thick chicken soup, a cheese and as much ale as they could drink in the day. It is apparent that the emphasis was placed on celebrations and happiness, just as we do today. A SCANT MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS QUIZ Below are four multiple choice questions guaranteed to test your knowledge and pick your brain. No fair cheating, but you'll find the answers at the end of the Coffee: 1. If you were given frumenty at a medieval Christmas party, you would probably: a. burn it c. eat it b. drink it d. put it in your hair 2. "Mumming plays" with traditional plots have been enjoyed at Christmas time in Europe since the Middle Ages. In England, the central character is usually: a. Robin Hood c. King Arthur b. St. George d. Sir Lancelot 3. At lavish Christmas feasts in the Middle Ages, swans and peacocks were sometimes served "endored." This means: a. The feet and beaks were coated with gold b. The guests knelt in adoration as the birds were brought in c. The birds had been raised on grain soaked in brandy d. The flesh was painted with saffron dissolved in melted butter 4. "Hot cockles" was popular at Chrismas in medieval times. It was: a. A dish of oysters and mussels b. A game in which a blindfolded person was struck c. The title of a popular drinking song d. A hot, spiced drink CHRISTMAS POTPOURRI: DID YOU KNOW...? .... long before it was used as a "kiss encourager" during the Christmas season, mistletoe had long been considered to have magic powers by Celtic and Teutonic peoples? It was said to have the ability to heal wounds and increase fertility. Celts hung mistletoe in their homes in order to bring themselves good luck and ward off evil spirits. .... Christmas trees are edible? Many parts of pines, spruces and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition. .... the modern Christmas custom of displaying a wreath on the front door of your ome is borrow from ancient Rome's New Year's celebrations? Romans wished each other "good health" by exchanging branches of evergreens. They called these gifts strenae after Strenia, the goddess of health. It became the custom to bend these branches into a ring and display them on doorways. .... there are 364 gifts in "The Twelve Days of Christmas?" .... the words of the carol, "Silent Night" were written on Christmas Eve in 1818 by Joseph Mohr, an Austrian priest? Franz Gruber, the organist of Mohr's church, composed the music that same night, and the carol was sung at midnight Mass. .... in a contract drawn up for masons and carpenters in Calais, in 1474, feast days were graded according to their importance? The time at which work finished dpeneded on the dignity of the day. Thus, a minor feast, like New Year's Day, was not recognized as a holiday and work ended at the usual time, 5:00 p.m. On a more important day, like St. Thomas of Canterbury's, work stopped at 3:00 p.m., while on Christmas Day, the most important holiday of all, tools were downed at 11:00 a.m. Although tis particular group of men was expected to work a few hours even on Christmas Day, it was the general custom to talke a holiday lasting several days in the Christmas week. At York in 1327, all work stopped from 24-28 December while at Westminster in 1331, the vacation ran from 23-30 December. Family and knowing our rich heritage ... it's what we're all about. Thank you for allowing me to spend this time with you. I hope your upcoming week is filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all, filled with love. Merry Christmas, everyone! ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.' Medieval quiz: 1. C) Eat it. Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by boh rich and poor. It is thought to be the forerunner of modern Christmas puddings. It has its origins in a Celtic legend of the harvest god, Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth. 2. B) St. George. Mumming plays were passed down through generations. Some bits seems to have nothing to do with the overall plot but are demanded by tradition. In England, St. George fights a Turk, who defeats him, to much booing and hissing from the audience. A Good Doctor then comes and saves St. George, to wild cheering. 3. D) The flesh was painted with saffron dissolved in melted butter. In addition to their painted flesh, endored birds were served wrapped in their own skin and feathers, which had been removed and set aside prior to roasting. 4. B) A game in which a blindfolded person was struck. "Hot cockles" was still a Christmas pastime until the Victorian era. The other players took turns striking the blindfolded one, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow.