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| The Banquet of Henry VIII in York Place (Whitehall Palace) (1832) ~ James Stephanhoff |
Whenever I see the number eight in roman numerals VIII I always think of Henry VIII, so I had a little Google of "Henry VIII Christmas" and found this
A Tudor Christmas was starting to resemble something we in the C21st might recognise even if there were some parts to a Christmas we would not!
The first record of a turkey being brought to Europe was in 1519. It was to be many years before this bird had reason to fear the Festive season. For the rich, the traditional meat on Christmas Day remained swan, goose etc as in a Medieval Christmas feast. In fact, in 1588, Elizabeth I ordered that everybody should have goose for their Xmas dinner as it was the first meal she had after the victory of the Spanish Armada and she believed that this gesture would be a fitting tribute to the English sailors who fought off the Spanish. However, it is not known how many of the poor of the land could carry out this order as goose remained an expensive luxury – though Christmas was seen as a special celebration.
More of that here.
At the moment I don't know what I will be eating at Christmas, or indeed who with or where. I am quite certain that I will be sharing my Christmas with friends or family, I am also quite sure that I won't be eating swan or peacock
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