Holidays, feasts, and celebrated events—like the duke’s wedding in A Midsummer Night’s Dream—are sprinkled throughout Shakespeare’s plays, often supplying plot points as well. Much like today, the winter holidays also meant more performances by his acting company, which put on plays for the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, as well as at some of the legal Inns of Court. Try our quiz about holidays in Shakespeare’s life and in his plays.
Quiz Maker – powered by Riddle
From our Folger Frost Fair, inspired by the 17th- to 19th-century frost fairs in London, to other festive events throughout the year, we invite you to join us at the Folger to celebrate the moments that bring us together. You might also add a family trip to our exhibitions to your holiday plans, see what’s on, and look for that special something in our Folger Shop, too.
Keep exploring
Holiday Festivities and Elizabethan Theater
Erika T. Lin studies early modern holidays and her work has yielded some surprising revelations—not only about the festivities themselves, but about the relationship between holidays and what we now think of as “theater.”
How William Shakespeare invented the holiday romcom
Austin Tichenor argues that today’s holiday romantic comedies are full of recognizably Shakespearean motifs.
The Woodstreet Cake: A spiced holiday cake with a spicy history
Follow this adapted recipe from a 17th-century manuscript in the Folger collection to make Woodstreet Cake, named for a London lane reputed for good cakes and good times at its popular taverns.
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