The church became dominant in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire. The main religion that was recognized in Middle Ages was that of Christianity, specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages "dominated the lives of both peasants and the nobility"(Bornstein, p13). Religious institutors including the Church and the monasteries became wealthy and influential given the fact that the state allocated a significant budget (Medieval) for religious activities.
The Roman Catholic Church was the ultimate control during the middle Ages and it was the stabilizing force in everyday life which kept the community structure together. The laws and "rules of the land, public policies and governance of the people were all affected by religion" (Arnold, p67) during the Middle Ages. Any attempt at threatening Christianity by other religions was met with force and all measures were taken to spread the religion in other parts of the world. .
During the middle ages festivals were popular, celebrated many different things, and were meant to be a time of joy for all people during these times. Everyone from Kings, Nobles, Merchants, Peasants were included in these celebrations. Festivals were a day or period of the year when people would stop working to celebrate a special event, often a religious one. Typically, there was at least one festival in each month; "Valentine's Day during February, Halloween during October, Easter around March and April, Christmas during December" (Mirus, p121). We still celebrate these holidays in modern times. Of course, each had reasons why they were celebrated, but some holidays were valued more than others. Christmas and Easter were the most important, not only religiously, but also for measuring out the year (Mirus, p134). Up to Christmas was winter, where wheat was sown. When Easter came, it meant the arrival of spring crops to grow, such as oats and barley.
