Tag Archives: Christmas Eve

Christmas fun: Old Fashioned Parlor Games

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What to do with company that comes for Christmas? What about some old fashioned parlor games? I love the holiday season, especially because it means I can have friends and family over. Occasionally, boredom can strike though and I find myself scrambling for something fun to do. With long winter nights with only candlelight to see by and fireplaces for warmth, those who lived in the regency era confronted the boredom issue regularly. No wonder … 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: 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 →

Regency Christmas Traditions: Parlor Games pt 2

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<p>&nbsp;</p> Christmas and Twelfth Night parties were times of particular fun and frivolity. Parlor games, like snapdragon and bullet pudding made up a large part of the fun. They were played by all classes of society and often involved overstepping the strict bound of propriety. These games often provided the opportunity for flirtation and communication between the sexes that otherwise would have been forbidden, thus their popularity. Losers often paid a forfeit, which could be an … Continue reading →

Regency Christmas Traditions: Parlor Games pt. 1

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What better way to pass the long, dark evenings during Christmastide than with parlor games? Christmastide was a time for fun and frivolity. Parlor games made up a large part of the fun. They were played by all classes of society and often involved overstepping the strict bound of propriety. Losers often paid a forfeit, which could be an elaborate penalty or dare, but more often were a thinly disguised machination for getting a kiss. … Continue reading →