For those of you who might follow my Aspen Series, you know that Thorne and Aspen are very relatable people! Well, they have been haunting my mind as of late. So several weeks ago, I decided to bring them out in a Christmas story.
In preparing to create the plot and characters to bring in, I researched the medieval Christmas traditions. Here’s is a few things that stood out to me and how certain ones had spoken to me even before I knew about them!
* Christmas carols were frowned upon by the church. People were not allowed to sing them in churches and were in trouble if caught singing them in their own homes.
* Holly was used in decoration, usually on the front doors of homes. The green leaves that are thorny symbolize eternal life and the crown of thorns Christ wore. The berries start out white and turn red symbolizing the blood shed by the crown of thorns.
* Christmas Eve was called Adam and Eve Day. This was a day that everyone would hang apples in the trees outdoors. There were no indoor Christmas trees.
* Christmas Day was a somber day, not really a fun day. Mass concentrated on the death and resurrection of Christ, not His birth.
* The day after Christmas was Boxing Day, a day that nobility would give clay jars called “piggies” to peasants. We get the term piggy bank from that tradition.
* The 28th of December was a day where children would be beaten. This symbolized the murder of all the children killed under King Herod’s orders after Jesus was born. Bad day to be a kid!!
* The Twelve Days of Christmas was celebrated after Christmas Day.
* The song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was actually a game played at celebrations. It was a memory game. People would sit around and say a gift that could be given and repeat the gifts from everyone before them. So every time you played, it was different.
There are many, many more traditions! These were just some that I hadn’t known much, if at all.
The Christmas Spirits will be available on Amazon for download this week! Keep watching for it!
Daisha KorthBooks 