Daily life in the Elizabethan Era
The Elizabethan Era was named after the era which Queen Elizabeth was reigning. Lower tier and working classes had a hard and difficult life. These people had to live under the current feudal system at the time. Powerful people and wealthy lords governed the districts which were filled with peasant families which often ranged from 50 to a few hundred (peasants being farmers and working class). The farmers did most of the work and tended to work from sun rise to sun set. The sick and elderly relied on the kindness of the lord for survival. Although the working class life was fairly stable, there was no escape from the generation to generation work.
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FamilyThe average family consisted of a father, mother, and their children. Some wealthy families included some of their extended family in the household and household servants. In this time, families were always viewed as working units (only includes peasant and working classes). One family member always had a task to do. A boy might be in charge of making sure the birds don't eat the crops and an older boy might herd the sheep. Girls were trained by their mothers to help take care of the house. Married women were almost always homemakers, though poor women often had to work for pay as well.
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EducationEducation was not available to everyone. Children of noble received education from top scholars teaching them at home while children from peasant families receive little to none education and only learning to farm and work from their parents. This meant that peasant children worked at very young ages and decided against education in the future. In the city, it is more common for a children to go to school. Even some working class children are spared working full time at a young age because their parents can afford for their child (normally son) to go to school for a couple of years, usually long enough for them to know the basics (reading and writing of the English language).
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Holidays For most Elizabethan workers, the workweek was long and hard. This meant that socializing and rest was always at the top of their minds while they work. Christmas was one of the most popular days of the year. Christmas today and back then is pretty much the same. They gave gifts and had a 12 day holiday. Everyone was all eager to have the feast on the 12th day and was considered to be the most extravagant day of the year.
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