Here’s a different kind of medieval recipe for Christmas. Use apples to decorate your Christmas tree and you will be following in a strong, medieval tradition!
A Medieval Recipe For Decorating Christmas Trees
The idea of having an evergreen tree in the home and decorating it goes back to 15th century Germany. Christmas in the 1400’s was a time when many German people created what they called a Paradise tree on Christmas Eve. This was a fir tree which they decorated with apples to represent the Garden of Eden and candles were put on the tree to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
By the 17th century, people added nuts to their list of decorations for the tree. Sweets and baubles of course were simply not around and even if they had been, they would not have been affordable by most people in medieval times.
In Britain the tradition of decorating a fir tree for Christmas began in royal circles in the early 19th century. German-born Queen Charlotte (consort of King George III) was familiar with her own country’s tradition and introduced the idea one Christmas whilst the royal family stayed at Windsor Castle.
It was much later however, in Queen Victoria’s reign that the average British person started to enjoy Christmas tree. This was largely thanks to another German-born member of the royal family Prince Albert. He had the idea of allowing a London newspaper to print a picture of the British Royal family gathered around their own Christmas tree.
Once the paper was published, the idea caught on and from that day to this, the British public has always enjoyed decorating their Christmas trees.
Medieval Christmas Recipes
If you would like to try an interesting recipe over the Christmas holidays, how about this medieval beef stew. If you prefer white meat, there’s this medieval chicken recipe and as an accompanying vegetable dish, medieval peas are a great option. Following that you might want to try a medieval style dessert. The choice is surprisingly varied – from custard tart made with almond milk to fruit stewed in wine and honey and I’ve even come up with a medieval ice cream recipe!
This is a non-dairy ice cream made with almond milk and other ingredients commonly available in medieval times.
