History Magazine
Mummers’ Plays
At Christmastime, you may be lucky enough to come across some people dressed very oddly, behaving very strangely and performing some sort of peculiar play. These are mummers, recreating a centuries old tradition…
The Lord of Misrule
“Eat, drink and be merry!” With roots in the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the Lord of Misrule was a festive, roll-reversal figure, a ‘mock king’ appointed to preside over revelry and disorder, most famously during Christmas or Twelfth Night festivities in medieval and Tudor England.
The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree
What could possibly connect Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, an exiled King, and the unquestionable bravery of Norwegian Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) crews and commandos during World War II? The answer? A tree.
The History of Christmas Day and the Royal Family
The first recorded date of Christmas in England was in the year 597 when Augustine baptised 10,000 Saxons in Kent on Christmas Day. Since then, through the centuries Christmas has been a time for feasting and merriment (except for a rather dour period under Cromwell).
