Did People Have Holidays in the Middle Ages?

Humans like celebrating. It is a part of life, and it has been going on since the beginning of the world. Holidays were prevalent in the Middle Ages.

People celebrated holidays in the Middle Ages. Some were different from ours, like Candlemas and Saint Faith’s Day, to name a couple, but others we still celebrate today, albeit differently, like Christmas and St. Valentine’s Day. Celebrations are fun and give people time off from work and school. For medieval peasants, this was also true. They partied, danced, and had as much fun as they could on their break days. The noblemen and royals joined in the festivities, sometimes hosting them, too. Everyone wanted to join the fun. Sometimes peasants were required to work on minor holidays, but on big holidays everyone was allowed at least a day off, and everyone was involved.

What else is there to learn about holidays in the Middle Ages? There is a lot more than just knowing they exist.

Were There Holidays in the Middle Ages?

People in the Middle Ages had many holidays. In different settings, the celebrations may have been humble or grand. For some, like the devout monks, observances may have included putting butter on the simple bread for a day, unlike the rest of the year when they ate plain bread. Many peasants may have gotten a better meal or even eaten at the nearby manor house.

For wealthy people, holidays could mean feasts of meat, including swan, bread, ale, surprise pies, and delicious desserts and may also involve guests visiting. Guests could be fun or annoying, and it always depended. However, when guests came everyone would get a fancy meal. Special meals impressed people. Some times of the year had more work time and fewer holidays. Other times were one holiday after another until some people just wanted to get back to ordinary life. People also celebrated their name saints.

How did people celebrate in medieval times?

We celebrate holidays differently than in the Middle Ages. Holidays in the Middle Ages were days off of hard labor. People would drink lots of ale, eat food, and play games. First, they would drink too much ale and fight as part of their revels. Doing this, they would get hurt or get a headache. Finally, they get help from a knowledgeable lady of the manor (who sometimes had training to help heal the people on her lands) or an herbalist nearby.

They could go through this cycle of problems again and again. Another way they celebrated was by going to special masses or church meetings. On All Souls Eve (a holiday derived from Irish pagans)people would go souling. Souling is when poor people and children would go door to door singing a rhyme in order to receive Souls Cakes, Ale, or other sweet food.

Another kind of holiday people celebrated was Namedays. Because of their religion, everyone had a saint they were named after. It was believed that name saints would look after their person. Sometimes parents liked a name, so they gave it to their child. Other times the child was born on a suitable saint’s day, so they received that name.

If a parent wanted a certain protection for their child, they would name it after the most suitable saint. Sometimes it was a combination of reasons. Namedays didn’t have to be anywhere near their birthdays. Whatever the reason each person had their name, they would commemorate their saint while their friends and family would celebrate them. Rich people would have special feasts with friends and family, and poor people could have parties, too. They would learn about their name saint that day.

What holidays were celebrated in the Middle Ages?

In the Middle Ages, there were almost 60 holidays, but not every person celebrated every one. However, many of the holidays were mandatory. Some of the holidays in the Middle Ages were:

The feast of Epiphany, on January 6th, celebrates the end of the twelve days of Christmas. The three kings visited the Christ Child on January 6th.
Candlemas, on February 2nd, celebrates the Purifying of Mary.
St. Valentine’s Day celebrated on February 14th, celebrates love. We still celebrate this holiday every year.
Lady Day, on March 21st, was to celebrate various goddesses and their births.
Easter was after the days of Lent, and the whole week before was full of excitement, partially to be able to eat meat again.
May Day was on May 1st and was a day of fun and games.
Corpus Christi was a changing holiday, celebrated 60 days after Easter. It was always on Thursday, though.
Mid-Summer’s Eve was on the summer solstice.
Saint Faith’s Day was on October 6th to remember Saint Faith, a child martyr. The evil king decapitated her when she survived burning. This day is also a celebration for unmarried women.
All Hallows Eve, celebrated on October 31st, was a day of evil.
Christmas started on Christmas Day (December 25th), but it lasted twelve days, finally ending on the Feast of Epiphany.
St. Stephan’s Day, celebrated on December 26th, was the second day of Christmas.

While this may seem like a lot, it certainly isn’t all of them. I included some major ones and some minor saints’ days and holidays. Every holiday had different traditions, one of the more raucous ones being on St. Stephen’s Day, where everyone trades roles; servants are nobles for a day, and nobles are servants. A few holidays came from other religions. One example of this was May Day (a pagan holiday) was a day to celebrate spring and enjoy some revelry. Holidays are special occasions, and the Middle Ages had many of these days.

What Were the Two Main Medieval Holidays?

While there were many holidays in the Middle Ages, not all of these holidays were super important. Two of the most important holidays of the year were Christmas and Easter. While this may seem random, it was not. The church was in charge, so it chose to celebrate the birth of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. Mary also played an important role.

Unlike today, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were not an essential part of their respective holiday. On Christmas, people acted out nativities, wassailing, praying, a special mass, and feasting. Easter was a special mass, prayer, and feasting. Easter was also a day to eat meat again. During Lent, they had to eat fish instead.

Holidays in the Middle Ages were popular and common. What medieval holiday would you most like to celebrate? What medieval holidays do you celebrate? Tell me in the comments!