Hobbies And Interests
Pagan Origins
According to Medieval-Life, several medieval celebrations and festivals revolved around fest days from pagan origins. Due to the heavy emphasis on agriculture and the unpredictability of the weather, pagans believed that festivals may have had the power to bring in a good harvest by pleasing the pagan gods or spirits. As a result, many festivals were timed throughout the year during times when specific crops would be planted or harvested.
Examples of Festivals
All Hallows, celebrated on November 1, was also known as the "blood month" because the scarcity of feed led to several animals and livestock being slaughtered, smoked, salted and cured for consumption throughout the rest of the winter. Other examples include Plow Monday, which took place the day after Epiphany (January 6) and began the new year of planting by cultivating the land through each town hosting a plow race where villagers would furrow as many lines as possible.
Religious Festivals
As the Church began to grow in prominence throughout the Middle Ages, religious festivals also began to commemorate certain saints and other periods throughout the church year, such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. The latter three festivals represented the high festivals of the church year and were often followed by a week of vacation. According to Medieval-Life, the two weeks from Christmas Eve to Epiphany became the longest vacation for workers of the medieval era. During Christmas, the lord of a nearby castle or manor would often celebrate by giving gifts of food, clothing and firewood to his servants.
Games
Festivals during the medieval times were also accompanied by an assortment of games. Sporting games such as hunting and hawking were often enjoyed by royalty and nobles while knights engaged in combat games such as jousting. Mystery plays, which were put on by traveling craft guilds and portrayed stories from the Bible, were also performed throughout the year in addition to festivals that occurred during the Middle Ages.