Masquerade Balls for the Holidays
Regency Era Masquerade Balls and a gallery of costumes.
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Regency era Holiday Gift Giving
Gift giving in Jane Austen’s Day. What might she have given or received for Christmas? Though gift giving was not the primary focus of the Christmastide season, gifts were commonly exchanged. St. Nicholas Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Twelfth Night were the most likely days for gift exchange. Old traditions called for gifts to be exchanged on New Year’s Day. Many gifts exchanged were gifts of obligation between unequal parties. Landowners and the well-off … Continue reading →
Regency Christmas Traditions: Twelfth Night Revelries
Who can resist a holiday party? During the Regency era, the party of the year would generally be held on Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night Revels Epiphany or Twelfth Night (Jan 5 or 6 depending on who was counting) was the exciting climax of the Christmastide season and a time for putting away social norms. It was a feast day to mark the coming of the Magi bearing gifts to the Christ child, and as such … Continue reading →
Regency Christmas Traditions: Mince Pie and Twelfth Night Pie
Traditional foods are always an important part of any celebration. Every family and every culture has certain dishes that speak of holidays and festivities would be incomplete without them. This was as true in the Regency era as it is today. Mince pie was a dish that helped define the season. During the Regency, most also considered mince meat pies, also known as Christmas or Twelfth Night pies staples for a Christmas feast and the … Continue reading →
Regency Christmas Traditions: Special Days of the Holiday Season
Christmas celebrations for our Regency ancestors started more than a month before Christmas and continue for almost two weeks beyond! In Jane Austen’s England, Christmas wasn’t simply a day of gifts and a large family dinner. The holiday season followed a calendar of special days, each with its own customs, celebrations, and occasional peculiarities. From Stir-up Sunday before Advent to the revelry of Twelfth Night in January, there was plenty to keep everyone in the … Continue reading →