Wednesday 26 November at 7:30pm
We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, as Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke reveal, many of our favourite Christmas traditions date back much further. Carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times, and even Father Christmas and roast turkey dinners have their origins in this period. The Tudor Christmas was a time of feasting, revelry and merrymaking, a twelve-day-long festival, over which the Lord of Misrule held sway, and convention was thrown to the winds. Christmas was so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in this age of tumultuous religious upheaval.
Tickets £16-20 to include mulled wine and a mince pie
ALISON WEIR is one of Britain’s bestselling historians. She is the author of numerous works of history and historical fiction, specialising in the medieval and Tudor periods.
SIOBHAN CLARKE has worked as a lecturer and guide for Historic Royal Palaces for seventeen years, writing tours and lectures on Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London and the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace.
Alison and Siobhan met at an event at Hampton Court Palace in 2003, and have been friends ever since. They have given many joint talks over the years, including several talks on the theme ‘A Royal Christmas’, which inspired A Tudor Christmas.
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