Create your own ‘Tudor style’ kissing bough

Name: Create your own ‘Tudor style’ kissing bough
Start: 2024-12-07T11:30:00+01:00
End: 2024-12-07T14:30:00+01:00
Location: The Mary Rose

Schedule

Sat Dec 07 2024 at 11:30 am to 02:30 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

The Mary Rose | Portsmouth, EN

This December, join us at the Mary Rose Museum and learn how to make a Christmas kissing bough, the Tudor forerunner of our familiar Christmas wreath! You can even personalise your creation with an item that means something to you, a photograph, or a Christmas decoration perhaps. Take your kissing bough home with you to be the centrepiece of your festive celebrations. Perfect for those wanting to spend time with friends and family, or even for Christmas team building fun!
The kissing bough, a ball of greenery, was one of the most popular Christmas decorations in Tudor times. Similar to Victorian wreaths, Tudor Christmas boughs were woven from ash or willow wood and then covered in evergreen foliage and fruits. They were often hung on walls or over doorways as a gesture of goodwill – to welcome guests into the home. The boughs gave birth to the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe – which was first documented in the 16th century.
Working with holly, ivy, rosemary, bay and seasonal fruits, we will be running workshops at the Museum that explore the elements of what a Tudor Christmas would have been like. You will begin your workshop with a 90-minute practical making session in which you will create your kissing bough. All equipment and materials will be supplied. You will also receive a guided tour of the museum by one of our team.
Sessions run 11:30am-1:30pm and 2pm-5pm