With the death of Queen Elizabeth I, her cousin, then King James VI of Scotland, united the kingdoms of Scotland and England as one realm in 1603. As King James I of England, he was still new to his people, having only ruled for half a year, when he hosted his first Christmas and New Year festivities.
A Generous Host
The Christmas period, traditionally associated with celebration, was an opportunity for King James to show his wealth and generosity with lavish meals, dancing and theatrical performances in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace in London. An entire week was devoted to wonderful and imaginative entertainments to establish the new king as a gracious and regal host and set the pattern for Christmas festivities throughout his reign.
A Faith in Tradition
King James believed that certain days in the year should be especially appointed for delighting his people, gathering neighbours together and encouraging friendship through the sharing of food and merriment. The King’s provision for the Christmas season at Hampton Court was part of this genuine belief in the value of traditional customs. He extended the blessings of the occasion to all the members of his household, courtiers and servants, in a measure considered suitable to each one’s status.
Plays by Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was among the actors performing for King James I’s guests during the celebrations of his first Christmas. A Midsummer Night's Dream is thought to have been performed on New Year’s Day, under the title A Play of Robin Goodfellow. Three years later in 1606, the first recorded performance of King Lear took place before King James on St. Stephen’s Day, December 26th, while Twelfth Night, which recalled another favourite Christmas festival, was performed for him in 1618 and 1623.
Seasonal Themes
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not the most obvious choice for a Christmas play, but Twelfth Night centres around themes familiar to the season with generosity, love and change in the disguises, mistaken identities and happy outcomes. Only the gloomy Malvolio ends up unhappy, humiliated and swearing revenge. Malvolio represents the growing Puritan suspicion of traditions such as Christmas, hence, in Act 2, scene 3, Sir Toby Belch’s question, ‘Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?’
St. Stephen’s Day
King Lear contains references to the care of the homeless which was associated with St. Stephen’s Day, today better known as Boxing Day. At Christmas, the duty of the wealthy was to give aid to the poor and King James ensured that this continued by writing the custom of hospitality on St. Stephen’s Day into the law. A popular saying reminded people that ‘Blessed be St. Stephen/There's no fast upon his even’ and reinforced the precedent for generous kindness to the less fortunate.
Noblesse Oblige
Entertainments, music and feasting, alongside remembrance of the less fortunate, offered the Jacobean court a celebration of the Christmas season in a way that honoured its themes of peace and goodwill to all. They also enabled King James to present himself to his new subjects as a monarch who would honour God, tradition and his own role with willing cheer, readiness and generosity.
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