Medieval peasants probably enjoyed their holiday festivities more than you do

"For all their hard work, peasants had a fair amount of downtime. Add up Sundays and the many holidays, and about one-third of the year was free of intensive work. Celebrations were frequent and centered around religious holidays like Easter, Pentecost and saints' days. But the longest and most festive of these holidays was Christmas. As a professor of medieval history, I can assure you the popular belief that the lives of peasants were little more than misery is a misconception."

"A peasant was not simply a low-class or poor person. Rather, a peasant was a subsistence farmer who owed their lords a portion of the food they grew. They also provided labor, which might include bridge-building or farming the lord's land. In return, a lord provided his peasants with protection from bandits or invaders. They also provided justice via a court system and punished people for theft, murder and other crimes. Typically, the lord lived in the village or nearby."

Peasants made up about 90% of the medieval European population and worked as subsistence farmers who owed lords portions of their produce and labor. Lords provided protection, local justice, and punishment for crimes, and often lived in or near the village. Villages contained communal ovens, wells, mills, brewers or pubs, and blacksmiths, with houses clustered along a dirt street. Peasants experienced considerable downtime—about one-third of the year—because of Sundays and numerous holidays. Religious festivals such as Easter, Pentecost and saints' days were frequent, with Christmas serving as the longest and most festive celebration. Peasants maintained active social lives, ate well, and had family structures comparable to modern ones.

Read at The Conversation