Originally, I had wanted to write a blog about Halloween in Tudor England history, but there's very little to be found about the subject. In fact, the origins of Halloween are not recorded until the early 1600's (towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign), and it was originally only known as "All Hallow's Eve." Anyone who knows about Halloween's history (which I must admit, I'm no expert), knows that it has a pretty fascinating history of "scaring" away the evil spirits, who only rose from their graves on this one day out of the year. People would dress in scary costumes and set out Jack O'Lanterns, which would also "scare" the spirits with their light. An intriguing history, but one that we don't really see in the Tudor's life. If anything, they would have recognized this holiday as a part of their Christian faith - celebrating All Souls Day.
With that little bit of history aside, I'm interested to know - Is anyone planning a Tudor-themed costume for Halloween? I must say, I hadn't dressed up for Halloween in a few years - (see my first paragraph to remember that I dislike this holiday!) - but this year, I am planning an Anne Boleyn costume and I'm actually very excited! It's not an authentic costume - I certainly didn't make it or anything like that, but I bought a costume called "Royal Queen," which includes a beautiful blue gown with a french hood, and I am planning on making a "B" charm to attach to my pearl necklace!
I've seen a few fun Tudor costumes while looking online and I'd like to share a few of them with you, in case you're still struggling to find the perfect outfit! No matter what your Halloween plans are, I'm sure you can find a reason to dress as your favorite Tudor character!