The Folger Shakespeare Library's Shakespeare Unlimited Podcast presents: "Holidays in Shakespeare's England with Erika T. Lin." Many of us have holiday traditions: we trim trees, spin dreidels, trick-or-treat, set off fireworks, and host parties. People had holiday traditions in Shakespeare's time too: they cross-dressed, roleplayed, fought, acted in amateur theatricals, ate pancakes, and watched cockfights. If you're thinking a few of those activities sound familiar from Shakespeare's plays....well, you're right.
Dr. Erika T. Lin studies holidays in early modern England. Some of them, like Christmas and Easter, are still big dates on today's calendars, while others, like Shrovetide, Midsummer, or The May, are less familiar. Less talks with Barbara Bogaev about how people celebrated and how they might have felt about Shakespeare's plays in a period when the line between holiday festivity and theater wasn't quite clear. Listen to Shakespeare Unlimited on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, NPR One, or wherever you find your podcasts, or check out the link below:
https://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited
Happy Holidays and we will see you the New Year!