Sunday, October 16, 2022

5th Year Anniversary as an Active YouTube Channel

My YouTube Channel is up to 2.4K subscribers and this week will be celebrating 5 years as an active channel!! 😃 😃



 
Thank you to all of my subscribers for helping this channel grow! 🙂
 
 
Have ideas for future videos? Please post you suggestions below!
 
 

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

16th Century Baking Schedule in Tudor Elizabethan England

Meals in 16th century England were determined by what was in season, as well as their religious calendar.
During the Middle Ages, workers only had Sundays and Holy Days (which later became known as ‘holidays’ off from work).
By the Elizabethan period, enjoying specialty foods and drinks, rather than what one normally consumed, became associated with the celebration of the Holy Days.
Secular traditions began to be associated with certain holidays. For example, it was customary to give gifts on New Year’s Day (in March). 
 

 
 
 
 
Elizabethan England's Recognized Holy Days
 
New Year's Day (1 Jan) - the Circumcision of Jesus Christ
Twelfth Day (6 Jan) - the Epiphany when the Magi visited Jesus
Candlemas (2 Feb) - Feast of the Purification of Mary
Shrovetide/Shrove Tuesday (between 3 Feb & 9 Mar) - the last day before the fasting of Lent
 
Ash Wednesday (between 4 Feb & 10 Mar) - First day of Lent, the 40-day fast that leads up to Easter
Lady Day (25 Mar) - Annunciation of Mary
Easter (between 22 Mar & 25 Apr) - the Resurrection of Christ and including nine days of celebration
May Day (1 May) - commemorating St. Philip and Jacob, but also considered the first day of summer
Ascension Day (between 30 Apr & 3 Jun) - Ascension of Christ and a major summer festival
Whitsunday (between 10 May & 13 Jun) - Pentecost when Christ visited the apostles
Trinity Sunday (between 17 May & 20 Jun) - Feast day of the Trinity
Midsummer Day (24 Jun) - commemorates John the Baptist
Michaelmas (29 Sep) - marks the end of the harvest season and commemorates the Archangel Michael
All Hallows/Hallowtide (1 Nov) - the feast of All Saints (Hallows)
Accession Day (17 Nov) - commemorates Elizabeth I of England's accession
Saint Andrew's Day (30 Nov) - commemorates St. Andrew
     
Christmas (25 Dec) - the birth of Jesus Christ
 
 
 
 
A Small Bit of Trivia
 
 In the 16th century, the beginning of the calendar year, when the year number changed (for example from 1548 to 1549), began on March 25th on the Annunciation of Mary holy day.

March 25th continued to be New Year’s Day in England until 1752, when the Parliament of England passed an act to make January 1st the beginning of the calendar year (like most of Western Europe had already done previously).

 
 
 
 
 

In the beginning of The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin from 1594, the book provides meat suggestions based on Holy Days:

 
 
 
 
 Interpretation:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flesh days versus Fish Days:

Fish days were observed throughout the year on Fridays and Saturdays, and sometimes on Wednesdays.
Flesh days were for any day not already observed as a fish day.
 
 
 
Works Cited
 
 
Bilyeau, Nancy. “When January 1st Wasn’t the First Day of the Year.” https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-january-1st-wasnt-the-first-day-of-the-year-8cfc63d3929a.
Cartwright, Mark. “Holidays in the Elizabethan Era.” https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1581/holidays-in-the-elizabethan-era/.
Dawson, Thomas. The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin. 1594. http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/book1594huswife.htm.
“Embroidered Book with Translation from the Glasse of the Synneful Soul.” https://tudorblackwork.blogspot.com/2020/04/embroidered-book-with-translation-from.html.
“Food and Your Lifestyle.” Life in Elizabethan England. http://elizabethan.org/compendium/46.html.
How, William. A proper new Booke of Cookery. 1575. https://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/pnboc1575.txt.
Hughes, Olga. “A Tudor Fish Day Menu.” https://nerdalicious.com.au/history/a-tudor-fish-day-menu/.