Daily Life And Holidays During The Elizabethan Era

The Elizabethan Era was a Golden Age for the English people during the late 1500s and early 1600s. This time period is referred to as the English Renaissance because new ideas were introduced to Elizabethan daily life. People enjoyed learning; they enjoyed art, culture, music, and food. The people also enjoyed celebrating many customs and festivals. These celebrations became a major part of daily life, and there were many customs to celebrate. Many Elizabethan holidays were related to their church, so Elizabethans attended church every Sunday so that they would be aware of which holidays and festivals were coming up. The Elizabethan Christian holidays are the Twelfth Night and Swithin’s Day. The Twelfth Night is celebrated on January fifth and this holiday marks the twelfth and final night of the Christmas season. During this holiday there are many festivals and feasts celebrating this religious holiday, on this night the Wise Men, or Magi following the birth of Jesus, come and visited them. Swithin’s Day is celebrated on July fifteenth, and celebrated Saint Within, a legendary bishop. When Saint Swithin’s died his bones were messed with, causing it to rain for forty days. Elizabethans used this holiday to predict weather outcomes for the next forty days.

These holidays were May Day and All Fool’s Day. May Day was celebrated on may first. May Day was a summer festival celebrating when the queen of May was chosen and villagers dance around the maypole, which was a pole decorated with flowers and ribbon. During this holiday, the king and queen were called Robin Hood and Maid Marian. All Fool’s Day was another Elizabethan holiday that was celebrated on April first. All Fool’s Day was the Jesters, or Lords of Misrules Day. The took charge for the day and caused chaos with jokes and jests. Everything was backwards on this day, all rules became