31 December – New year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve, the seventh day of Christmas, was traditionally a time for games and sports. While wealthy people enjoyed hunting, card games, and dice throughout the year, festive celebrations made these activities even more lively. Popular parlour games such as Blind Man’s Buff and hide-and-seek were also played, many of which are still familiar today.
For poorer people, who worked hard for most of the year, Christmas offered a rare chance to rest and enjoy themselves. In fact, Henry VIII passed a law allowing working men to play certain games—such as football, tennis, dice, and cards—only during the Christmas period, encouraging them to make the most of the holiday. To ensure England maintained skilled archers, he also ruled that archery was the only sport permitted on Christmas Day, which helped make it especially popular.
At this time, winters were far harsher than they are today, during a period known as the ‘Little Ice Age’ that lasted around 200 years. The River Thames often froze solid, allowing people to hold ‘Frost Fairs’—markets and celebrations held directly on the ice. In 1564, courtiers even practised archery on the frozen river, while others played games such as football on the ice.
Images are Pro Content included with Canva Teams. Article written by Chat GPT