Bells, Staves & Misrule
Today we’re stepping into one of the most colourful, energetic, and wonderfully noisy traditions of the Tudor festive season, Morris dancing. You might picture modern dancers with bells and handkerch...
10 Dec 20255min
Tudor Yuletide Customs
Yule Logs, Twelfth Night Cakes & the Lord of Misrule. Step into a Tudor Christmas with me! I’m historian Claire Ridgway, and today’s Advent episode looks at the real Yuletide customs of Tudor England...
9 Dec 20254min
Tudor Winter Warmers
The Festive Drinks That Kept Henry VIII’s Court Merry Step into a warm Tudor hall, sit beside the glowing Yule log, and discover the festive drinks that kept Henry VIII’s England merry throughout th...
8 Dec 20256min
Dragons, Masques & Royal Revelry
Dragons that spat fire. Masked dancers sweeping through palace halls. Henry VIII himself turning up in disguise… Welcome to Tudor Twelfth Night, the most spectacular, theatrical, and joyfully chaotic...
7 Dec 20256min
How the Tudors Decorated for Christmas
Forget fairy lights and tinsel, Tudor Christmas decorations were deeply symbolic, richly traditional, and filled with myth and meaning. Hello, I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and welcome to ...
6 Dec 20255min
From St Nicholas to Santa Claus
Welcome to Day 6 of my Tudor Christmas Advent series! Today we’re diving into one of the most enchanting feast days of the Tudor calendar, St Nicholas’s Day, and uncovering how this 4th-century bishop...
5 Dec 20257min
The REAL Twelve Days of Christmas
Did you know the Tudors didn’t end Christmas on 25th December… they started it? I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and in today’s episode of my Tudor Christmas Advent series, we’re walking thro...
4 Dec 20256min
How the Tudors Had Fun by the Fire: Tudor Christmas Fun
What did Tudor families do at Christmas once the feasting slowed, the music quietened, and the Yule log glowed on the hearth? They played games, and some of them are still incredibly fun today. Welc...
3 Dec 20256min
