The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-12-25
AN oLp.rIME CHRISTMAS.
The Feastings, Games and Pastimes OF
Three Hundred Years Ago.

-
Three Hundred Years Ago.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centu-
ries this whole season was given up to
revels and jollity, in which eating and
drinking had a prominent part. In
London in the fifteenth century the first
duty of the Lord Mayor and corpora
ton was to dine, and then go, as soberly
as might be, to the Church of st. Thomas
Aeon, and sit through the whole service.
On other festival days and Sundays
they had a habit of skipping out after
the. prayers were under way, but on
Christmas they were bound to set an
example of perseverance. Service over,
their worships rode on horseback, by
torch-light, through the market of
Chepe and back to the church, where,
being in a liberal frame of mind on ac-
count of the day and the good dinner,
they made a money offering to the
church. Each man contributed the
magnificent sun of one penny to its
treasury! This duty done, they re-
turned to their own houses, and made
NOR or less a night of it, after the inn
memorial manner of good city fathers,
in private, the custom not hav-
ing yet arisen of manifesting
happiness by painting the town
red.n We read a good deal about
Sir John Reresby in his memoirs makes
a pe~nitential note of a dinner at Thyr-
berg in 1851: 1.-THE Earl of Huntington,
my Lord Ellend, and some others dined
with me, when we ended the year in
more than an ordinary debauch; which,
God forgive me! it being neither my
custom nor inclination much to do So"
The next year there was at table a "Mr.
Bolton, an ingenious clergyman, but too
much a good fellow" The good fellows
liked Thyrberg; during the holidays as
many as forescore gentlemen and yeo-
men, with their wives, dined daily at
the hall.
Christmas was always a democratic
festival; all classes mingled in the games
and merriment, and hospitality was
universal. An English gentleman in
the country, on Christmas Day in the
morning, had all his tenants and neigh
bors enter the hall by daybreak. The
strong beer was preached, and the
!, b~lack-jacks went plentifully round.
with toast, sugar, nutmeg, and good
Cheshire cheese. The great sausage
(the Hacking must be boiled at day
break, and if it failed to be ready, two
young men mus take the maiden ii. e.,
: the cook) by the arm and run her round
| the market-place till she was ashamed
of her ~laziness. The maids had,
t however, some privileges of
E retort. In some places in Oxfordshire
4 it was the custom for the maid-servant
3 to ask the mar for ivy to dress the
house, and if the man refused or neg.
! lected to fetch the ivy, the maid stole a
pair of his breeches and nailed them up
: to the gate in the garden or highway.
. During the festival days the tables were
] perpetually spread; the sirloin of beef,
the minced-pie, the plum-porridge, tur.
t keys, geese and plum-puddings, were
all brought upou the board at once, and
/ every one ate heartily and was wei
come, so that the proverb originated o.
8 't'Tis merry in hall when boards wae
ALL" The gentlemen went to early serv
. ice in the church. and returned tc
breakfast on Drawn and mustard and
{ malmsey. Drawn was a dish of great
antiquity. 1t was made from the flesh
of large bears which lived in a half
wild-state, and when put to fatten were
strapped and belted tight round the
e | CdICdSS, LII OIucI " Iudh6 Tile utSu US
i come dense and brawny. 1t came tt
: market in rolls two feet long by ter
S inches in diameter, packed in wicker
e baskets. At dinner the first course
served was the boar's head. on a silver
. platter, adorned with bays and rose
e mary, carried into the hall with mucl
j state, preceded by the Master of Revels
$ and followed by choristers and min
i strels singing and playing composition.
G in its honor. A stanza of a common
carol sung was this:
.'Then sett downe the swineyard,
d The foe to the vineyard,
a Lett BacchuS crown his fall;
Lett this boare' head and mustard
Stand for pigg, goose and custard,
d And SO you are welcome all"
d Another dish, common to Shakes
peare's day, which added at least to TIL
show of the feast, was the stately pye,
that is, a peacock or pheasant pie. Il
the days of chivalry the knights tool
their vows at a solemn feast, on presen
tation of a roasted peacock in goldel
dish. This custom was kept up a
l Christmas by the bringing in on tn
l most magnificent dish the house coul
afford, of a peacock in a pie, preservin,
as much as possible. the form of th
bird, with the head elevated above tn
crust, the beak richly gilt, and tn
beautiful tail spread out to its full ex
tent. 1t was from this superb dish tina
the oath came, by cock and pye, sir.
II At the supper two servants attended
bearing fair torches of wax next befor
the musicians and the trumpeters, an
el they stood above the fire (the fire of sea
Ell coal being originally in the middle c
IT the room) with the musicians till tn
as first course was served, when they re
e tired, with the music, to the buttery
After supper, as well as before, ther
lo were revels and dancing during tn
1t twelve days of Christmas, and games i
u which all classes joined. One of the fl
81 vorite games was known as snapdragoI
l. Brandy was set on fire and raisin
70 thrown into it. The diversion consiste
sc of adventures to pluck out the raisins
The Master of the Revels sang a song c
Il carol, in which the gentlemen took pal
at his command.
ed The requisites for good Christina
to fare were plenty of good drink, a blas
ing fire in the hall, Drawn, pudding an
OF souse, and mustard with all (mustar
lie is your great provoker of a noble thirst,
pies of the best, pig, veal, goose, capor
OF turkey, cheese, apples and nuts, wit
OIL jolly carols. When the company tire
re of games and romping sports, it gath
cred about the ruddy fire, and had tale
n of legendary lore, adventures of knight
n and ladies and friars, of strange appar
tons and ghosts, of coaches on lionel
&c moors drawn by a team of headles
n, horses driven by a headless coachmar
d with graveyard passengers, of wonde
full pOrtentS in nature, stories of tru
is love wrapped in mystery and ending
Ell grief, and all sorts of ghostly remini
Il cences, which seemed as real as til