Category Archives: Regency Life

Regency Christmas Traditions: Christmas Pantomimes

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Each year, Regency era British theaters prepared Christmas pantomimes (pantos) that would begin on Boxing Day and run as long as the audiences demanded them. These were not silent productions, but rather very verbal performances that included the audience as an extra character in plays bearing many similarities to modern burlesque. The Pantomime Tradition The tradition of pantomimes and the pantomime characters in England traces back to medieval theater. Broadbent (1901) notes: A sketch of … Continue reading →

Regency Christmas Traditions: Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day

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A full month of posts to celebrate the Christmastide season. Stories, traditions, recipes, videos, games and a giveaway to fill your Yuletide with Regency Era fun.       December 24th: Christmas Eve On Christmas Eve, the decorations and greenery were put up throughout the house. Bringing in greenery prior to Christmas eve was considered bad luck. Traditional greenery included holly, ivy, rosemary, evergreen, hawthorn and, bay leaf, laurel, and hellebore (Christmas rose). Some households fashioned kissing … Continue reading →

Regency Christmas Traditions: Christmas Carols-Songs of Joy

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Caroling and Christmas carols played a distinct part in regency era Christmas celebrations. Start of Caroling People have used songs and music as a part of celebration for as long as we have recorded history. The word carol comes from Latin the words meaning sing and joy. Thus carols are songs of joy. The songs we know as Christmas carols have both sacred and secular roots. Some began as hymns of the church. Da, puer, … Continue reading →

Regency Christmas Traditions: Mumpers, Mummers and Sword Dancers

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A full month of posts to celebrate the Christmastide season. Stories, traditions, recipes, videos, games and a giveaway to fill your Yuletide with Regency Era fun. Amidst all the fun and frivolity of the season, charity also played a large part of the Christmastide season. In addition to the normal parish collections, an number of other seasonal opportunities for charity came during the Christmas season. St. Thomas Day The Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, celebrated … Continue reading →