SC - Tablecloths and Christmas feasts

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/8/98 12:40:20 AM Eastern Standard Time, stefan at texas.net
writes:

<< Huh?  Sounds pretty picky to me.  Am I missing something here?
 
 Thanks.
   Stefan li Rous >>

There is (was) a whole regimen of proper ways to lay tablecoverings for formal
occasions which involved table mats, under cloth, a base cloth then the actual
tablecloth and runners.  This reached the peak of perfection during the
Victorian period and is now dyeing out. I have no direct information on period
layouts but can still remember polishing silver and unwrapping carefully
folded linens and napkins for my grandmother on'special occasions'.
- -----------------------------

Regarding Christmas feasts in the Middle Ages.  To put it simply they were
uncommon since the early and medieval church put much more emphasis on the
date of death rather than birth.  Note that all the Saints days are celebrated
on the date of their death.  It was only with much reluctance that the Church
excepted Christ's birth as a day of feasting.  It did so only when confronted
with the need to incorporate pagan festivals into it's body of traditions
because the pagan populace insisted on practicing their traditional winter
fire festivals in celebration of the lengthening of the days. 

It was during the Middle Ages that these festivals were incorporated into
Christian practice, although the Church had, by way of a pronouncement by Pope
Julius I in 350 C.E., set Dec. 25 as the 'official,' albeit inaccurate, date
of Jesus of Nazareth's birth.  It was all in all a rather minor day with the
actual celebrations occurring on Epiphany or Twelfth Night.  It most certainly
did not have the significance that it has come to have in the current middle
ages until extremely late in period.

The Church's main focus was on the Lenten season.  That, and various
celebrations by local saints cults being the major religious points of the
year. The principle source of this information is from  'The Wordsworth Book
of Saints' by Alison Jones and 'How It Started' by Web Gammon

Ras (who is finding out that AM and I both may be right about pigs...update to
follow.)
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