Just as many of us are starting to prepare for Christmas, our Anglo Saxon ancestors would have also been getting ready for a major seasonal celebration.

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

At West Stow Anglo Saxon Village, near Bury St Edmunds, visitors are able to step back in time this weekend to see how the Anglo Saxons would have undertaken preparations for Yule.

More than 150 people got to see re-enactors from the West Stow Friends costume group, Stowacynn, decorate the hall and bake for their Yule feast on Saturday, November 17.

Heritage officer Glynis Baxter said: “The idea is the visitors are stepping back in time to see how Anglo Saxons would have lived at this time of year.”

She said it had been the busiest weekend for the visitor attraction since half-term.

West Stow is one of England’s great archaeological sites and features a recreation of an Anglo-Saxon village and extensive indoor galleries.

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)

East Anglian Daily Times: West Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria PertusaWest Stow Friends reenactment of Yule Festival at the Saxon Village. Picture: Victoria Pertusa (Image: Archant)