THE HISTORY OF WASSAIL

In the cider-producing counties in parts of England, wassailing was a traditional ceremony that involved singing and drinking to the health of the orchards, in the hopes that they might better thrive. The purpose of wassailing was to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the autumn. A wassail King and Queen lead the song to be sung from one orchard to the next.The wassail Queen was then lifted up into the boughs of the tree where she would place toast soaked in Wassail (a mulled cider or wine) from the Clayen Cup as a gift to the tree spirits.

Then the assembled crowd will sing and shout and bang drums and pots & pans and generally make a terrible racket until the gunsmen give a great final volley through the branches to make sure the work is done and then off to the next orchard. This ancient English tradition is still very much thriving today.

" Wassail the trees, that they may bare / You many a Plum and many a Pear: / For

more or less fruits they will bring, / As you do give them Wassailing."

How far the tradition dates back is unknown but it has undeniable connections with Anglo-Saxon pagan rituals.Of recent times the word Wassail (from the Anglo-Saxon toast was pu hael, "be thou hale" – i.e., "be in good health") has come to be synonymous with Christmas.

House-Visiting wassail, very similar to caroling, is the practice of people going door-to-door singing Christmas carols. In modern times, it is most commonly known through reference in various English traditional Christmas carols.

"Apple tree, apple tree, we all come to wassail thee, Bear this year and next year

to bloom and to blow, Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sack fills, Hip, Hip, Hip,

hurrah, Holler biys, holler hurrah."

This tradition, coming so close to Christmas morphed into Victorian Wassailing, more of a 12th night of Christmas, caroling event with lots of drink and food.

WASSAIL BOWLS

Wassail bowls, generally in the shape of goblets, have been preserved as part of the tradition. Historically, some were so large that they were passed around as a "loving cup", so that many members of the guild could drink from it.

WASSAIL THE BEVERAGE

Wassail, the beverage is a hot, mulled punch often associated with Yuletide. Historically, the drink was a mulled cider made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and topped with slices of toast. Modern recipes begin with a base of wine, fruit juice, or mulled ale, sometimes with brandy or sherry added.

 

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