Christmas
ENCORES: Selections from ‘Christmas in New Spain’ performed by Folger Consort (2013)
Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, a weekly online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. Listen as Folger Consort performs selections from its 2013 concert ‘Christmas in New…
Have yourself a merry Shakespeare Christmas
It’s that time of year, when some of us have visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, many are looking forward to (or dreading) gathering with family and friends, and a certain subset of us wonder, somewhat longingly and…
All the table's a stage: A 1619 Christmas play for food
In this unconventional Christmas play from 1619, the characters are different foods warring against one another for pride of place at the holiday feast.
A very special Christmas gift
Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, shares the story behind a book that belonged to the library’s founder. Many of us have probably given or received…
Elizabethan Holidays: Christmas, New Year's Day... and Plough Monday?
The Twelve Days of Christmas, from December 25 to January 6, was the longest and most enthusiastically celebrated festival in the Elizabethan calendar. On Christmas Eve, people decorated with evergreens, ivy, and holly, burned a Yule log, sang carols, and…
Happy Holidays from Elizabethan England
Some people believe that the Renaissance image of “Merry England,” a land of festivity and mirth, was a myth created during the Stuart reign by people nostalgic for the good old days before the Puritans put the kibosh on fun.…