Queen Elizabeth’s New Year’s Gifts
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I love the Tudor English tradition give New Year’s gifts. Before Christmas became a tradition in the 19th c., English folks would send friends and family gifts to celebrate the new year. The photo above is a sweets bag that Elizabeth received in 1579. But, it wasn’t filled with candy. It was filled with sweet-smelling herbs to mask the odours around her. This gift was probably more valuable than the candies she also received that day! |
If you are interested in learning more, please see this article: Golden Age of Gift-Giving.
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I learned about this tradition when I was studying books for nuns in the Tudor period. It was common for nuns and monks to exchange books as New Year’s presents – it was such a lovely image to me of religious people sharing their love of reading across the boundaries of their nunneries and monasteries. I think we should bring back the tradition of giving books as gifts for New Year’s. Who’s with me? |