How Shakespeare Might Have Celebrated Christmas
By Katie Neves, guest writer
“Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes
Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad.
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallowed and so gracious is that time.”
So says Marcellus in Act I, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It’s one of the only times that the Bard ever wrote about Christmas at all; in fact, the word “Christmas” is only used three times in his entire canon—twice in Love’s Labor’s Lost and once in The Taming of the Shrew. It might seem a little out of character for Shakespeare not to tackle the subject; he was one of the English language’s most prolific writers, and was especially drawn to themes of revelry, merriment, and culture. Not to mention the fact that Christmas was a popular subject for other poets and playwrights of the era; even Shakespeare’s friend (and sometimes rival) Ben Jonson wrote a Christmas-themed masque and performed it for the royal court.
Then again, Shakespeare was probably very busy around Christmastime. One of the more popular Tudor Christmas traditions was to hold masques, pageants, and plays to celebrate the season. Shakespeare was one of England’s most popular playwrights, endorsed by both Elizabeth I and James I—which made him incredibly busy. He spent almost all his time at work in London, only occasionally returning to his home in Stratford to visit his family. So, at Christmastime, he and his plays were in high demand. A few of his works—like Love’s Labor’s Lost and Measure for Measure—even made their debut during the holiday season. All things considered, it makes sense that we don’t have a lot of Shakespearean Christmas content—he just didn’t have the time!
Still, we have a pretty good idea of how Christmas might have looked for Shakespeare. During the Tudor (and early Stuart) eras, Christmas was a raucous, wild, and boisterous time. It was a season for drinking and partying, for the upending of social norms, and for merrymaking. Unlike today’s Christmas celebrations, which are (technically) limited to the 24th and 25th of December, Christmas in Shakespeare’s time lasted more than an entire month! Beginning with Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas Day, the people of Tudor England would spend the month in fasting, prayer, and various religious observances—all leading up to Christmas itself. Then begins Christmastide, which lasts from sunset on Christmas Eve all the way through January 5th. Those 12 days of Christmas culminated in Twelfth Night (which shares a name with one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays); the day when Christmas revelry reached its peak.
For the Tudors, Christmas was a time to mock the established social dynamics. As part of the festivities, communities would name a “Lord of Misrule;” a peasant who took on the temporary mantle of nobility, and presided over all the revelry and merriment. Under the Lord of Misrule’s reign, the social order took a topsy turvy turn. Men sometimes dressed as women (and vice versa); peasants acted like kings; drunkenness was preferred over sobriety, and partying was more important than work. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is an example of the sort of social upending that happened around Christmas. Even though (outside of its title) the play never mentions the holiday, the entire show is about twisting social norms, revelry, and zany hijinks. So, in a way, it’s probably the closest we get to a Shakespearean Christmas play.
Of course, no Christmas celebration is complete without a feast—and that was even more true back in the Tudor era. Christmastime was the time of year where Elizabethan subjects ate the most lavishly. Main dishes in most households across England usually consisted of beef or goose—whereas in wealthier estates, the main course was often a boar’s head or roasted peacock. Other traditional Christmas fare included venison, brawn with mustard, olive pie, and various salads and fricassees.
Christmas desserts were very popular, too—with perhaps the most famous being mincemeat pies. Unlike in later years, where the “meat” was in name only and the pies were mostly made of fruit, Tudor mincemeat pies contained actual meat—usually shredded tongue. A traditional Christmas minced pie was made with 13 ingredients, representing Jesus and his 12 apostles. In addition to the shredded tongue, they usually contained fruit like raisins and figs; lamb, to symbolize the shepherds; and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to represent the three wise men.
Another popular Christmas dessert was 12th Cake, which was reserved for the last day of Christmastide. This cake was traditionally made with a dried bean baked into the batter; and the party guest who found the bean in their slice was crowned king or queen of the feast. And of course, in addition to the pies and cakes and other Christmas sweets, the holiday was a time for unrestrained drinking. Wassail was very popular during this era; revelers would mull a punch or cider in a large bowl, and often dropped roasted crab apples into the mixture—which would burst open, giving the drink its “lambswool” nickname. Wassailers brought the bowl door-to-door, singing carols and offering drinks from the bowl—usually in return for gifts.
The wassailing tradition also gave rise to the custom of Christmas caroling. Plenty of the Tudor favorites are still around today; in addition to the Wassailing song, carolers sang pieces like “The Coventry Carol,” “The Boar’s Head Carol,” “Nowell, Nowell,” and “Good King Wenceslas.” Unfortunately, the tradition of caroling—and Christmas revelry in general—was outlawed not long after Shakespeare’s death. In 1647, under the Puritan regime, Christmas celebrations were banned; and, although the ban was lifted in 1660, caroling wouldn’t be popular again until the Victorian era.
Although caroling dwindled in popularity after Shakespeare’s lifetime, seasonal songs lived on in a few of his plays. In Love’s Labor’s Lost and As You Like It, Shakespeare included two winter-themed songs, which were performed as masques inside of his plays. And, although they aren’t about Christmas, per se, they certainly capture the festivity and overall mood of the season (If you want a look at these songs, you’ll find the full lyrics below).
From feasting and revelry to the upending of social norms, Christmas in Shakespeare’s time was a vibrant, chaotic affair. And while Shakespeare never waxed poetical about the season, like some of his peers, it’s safe to assume that he enjoyed the same rowdy festivities that his neighbors did. In between writing his plays in London and performing them at the royal court, no doubt Shakespeare fit in a few parties here and there—and had as merry a Christmas as any other Tudor reveler.
Shakespeare’s Christmas Songs
“The Holly Song” (From As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7)
Blow, blow, thou winter wind.
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude.
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho, sing heigh-ho, unto the green holly.
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.
Then heigh-ho, the holly.
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot.
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho, sing heigh-ho, unto the green holly.
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.
Then heigh-ho, the holly.
This life is most jolly.
“The Winter Song” (From Love’s Labor’s Lost, Act V, Scene 2)
When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
When blood is nipped, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl
“Tu-whit to-who.” A merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian’s nose looks red and raw;
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl
“Tu-whit to-who.” A merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
