The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to
be. Here are some facts about the 1500s. These are interesting..
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in
May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting
to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house
had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and
men, then the women and, finally, the children. Last of all, the babies.
By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence the saying, ''Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water.''
Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw - piled high, with no wood
underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the
cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall
off the roof. Hence the saying, ''It's raining cats and dogs.''
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed
a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess
up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung
over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying, ''Dirt poor.''
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when
wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the
door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in
the entranceway. Hence the saying, ''a thresh hold.''
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things
to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They
would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in
it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, ''Peas
porridge hot, Peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the Pot, nine days old.''
Sometimes they could obtain pork which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It
was a sign of wealth that a man could ''Bring home the bacon.'' They would
cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and,
''Chew the fat.''
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning
death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years
or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of
the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the
''upper crust''.
Peace