American Prestige Re-Post - The Medievalist's Guide to Christmas w/ Eleanor Janega
Dec 25, 2025
Eleanor Janega, a medieval historian and author, dives into the fascinating history of Christmas. She explores the origins of the holiday, tracing its practices through early Christian societies and medieval celebrations. Topics include the mysterious dating of Christmas, the role of mummers' plays, and gift-giving traditions like those of St. Nicholas. Janega highlights how pagan customs influenced medieval festivities and discusses the evolution of holiday symbols, ultimately reflecting on how Christmas has transformed into a modern consumer celebration.
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Why Christmas Fits The Winter Calendar
- Medieval Christmas grew because winter is dark and work slowed, so communities needed a long festival to distract themselves.
- Eleanor Janega argues many winter traditions existed because everyone everywhere needed a winter holiday, not simply because Christians stole pagan rituals.
Epiphany As The Original Gift Day
- Epiphany (Jan 6) functioned as the culmination of Christmas and often the traditional day for gift-giving in medieval practice.
- Medieval celebrations treated the 12 days of Christmas through Epiphany as a single extended festival period.
Seasonal Violence Against Jewish Communities
- Anti-Jewish violence often increased around festival times but medieval Christmas-related attacks were more commonly drunken, opportunistic harassment.
- Janega cautions that while pogroms occurred, seasonal assaults were frequently low-level harassment by inebriated celebrants.