Now and then
Were households allowed to mix at Christmas during the plague? Samuel Pepys’s diary entry for 25 December 1665:
‘To church in the morning, and there saw a wedding… which I have not seen many a day; and the young people so merry one with another, and strange to see what delight we married people have to see these poor fools decoyed into our condition… thence to my Lord Bruncker’s by invitation and dined there…’
Festive fights
Do divorces really increase thanks to Christmas? Divorce lawyers often say they’re especially busy after Christmas, as couples seek to untie the knot after a fractious time. But since the HM Courts and Tribunal Service launched its online service it’s been possible to track divorce applications over the festive season. In 2018:
— 13 couples filled out the electronic form on Christmas Day itself.
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