Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations in the Elizabethan Era

January-Twelfth Night

• Celebrated evening of January 5
• Celebrates the end of Christmas

February-Valentines Day

• February 14^th was the day of Valentines Day.
• Celebrates love.

March – Easter

• Easter was suppose to resemble religious mysteries and the humans urges we have towards light and warmth

April- All Fool’s Day

• Celebrated April 1
• Everything is backwards on this day
• This day allows rules to be non-existent

May-May Day

• It is celebrated on the 1^st of May.
• This celebration is about trying to use remembrances of pagan attempts to force spring back into the world.

June- Midsummer Eve

• Midsummer Eve was celebrated at the beginning of the summer. It starts as the summer solstice does.
• It celebrates the earth’s creation of the young leaves and grasses.

July- St. Swithin’s Day

• Celebrated July 15
• Celebrates old Bishop’s death and used to predict weather for the next 40 days

August- Lamma’s Day

• Also known as “Lammastide”.
• The festival was celebrating the first wheat harvest of the year.

September- Michaelmas

• Michaelmas is a holiday made for honoring St. Michael. He was the second most famous dragon fighter.

October- Halloween

• Celebrated October 31
• Celebrates the end of the summer and the beginning of winter

November- St. Catherine’s Day

• This celebration honors one of the most famous women saints, St. Catherine of Alexandria.

December- Christmas

• The Christmas celebration was twelve days long. This was to honor the twelve apostles, the twelve days in the bible, and December as the twelfth month.

William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

William completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in 2013. He current serves as a lecturer, tutor and freelance writer. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking his dog and parasailing. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2025 | Creative Commons 4.0

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