Wassail

Wassail

Wassail is a hot, spiced punch often associated with Christmas. Particularly popular in Germanic countries, the term itself is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon term, wæs hæil, meaning, "Be healthy".

History of the drink

While the beverage typically served as "wassail" at modern holiday feasts with a medieval theme most closely resembles mulled cider, historical wassail was completely different, more likely to be mulled beer or mead. Sugar, ale, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon would be placed in a bowl, heated, and topped with slices of toast as sops.

Hence the first stanza of the traditional carol the [http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/pages/tiWASGLOUC;ttWASGLOUC.html Gloucestershire Wassail] dating back to the Middle Ages:

"Wassail! wassail! all over the town,"
"Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;"
"Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;"
"With the wassailing bowl, we'll drink to thee."

At Carhampton, near Minehead, the Apple Wassailing is held on the Old Twelfth Night (17 January). The villagers form a circle around the largest apple tree, hang pieces of toast soaked in cider in the branches for the robins, who represent the 'good spirits' of the tree. A shotgun is fired overhead to scare away evil spirits and the group sings, the following being the last verse:

"Old Apple tree, old apple tree;"
"We've come to wassail thee;"
"To bear and to bow apples enow;"
"Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full;"
"Barn floors full and a little heap under the stairsChristian, Roy (1972). "Old English Customs". Pub. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5741-7. P.113.] ."

Bibliography

Bladey, Conrad, Jay,(2--2) "Do the Wassail", Hutman Productions, Linthicum,ISBN 0970238673.Gayre, G.R. (1948). Wassail! In Mazers of Mead. Pub. Phillimore & Co.Ltd. London.

British Pubs named 'Pig and Whistle'

The Norse word for Barley was 'byg', as in modern Danish. This terminology still persists in areas of Britain formerly part of the 'Danelaw', for example the 'Bigg Market' in Newcastle on Tyne, the former barley market. Today many British pubs are still named 'Pig and Whistle' which is a corruption of the name of an early Medieval feast known as the 'Byggen Wassail' celebrated at the end of the barley harvest, malted barley being the main ingredient of ale.

External links

* [http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php?title=wassail Wassail Recipe]
* [http://www.kathyrmiller.com/wassail.htm Non-alcoholic Wassail Recipe]
* [http://www.whimple.org/wassail.htm The Whimple Wassail (Whimple History Society)]
* [http://www.stuartking.co.uk/index.php/making-a-wassail-bowl/ Making a wassail bowl]
* [http://weirdwales.co.uk/myths-and-customs/gallery/01-wassailing-vessels.shtml Pictures of Wassail Bowls]

References


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  • Wassail — Was sail, a. Of or pertaining to wassail, or to a wassail; convivial; as, a wassail bowl. Awassail candle, my lord, all tallow. Shak. [1913 Webster] {Wassail bowl}, a bowl in which wassail was mixed, and placed upon the table. Spiced wassail bowl …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wassail — Was sail, n. [AS. wes h[=a]l (or an equivalent form in another dialect) be in health, which was the form of drinking a health. The form wes is imperative. See {Was}, and {Whole}.] [1913 Webster] 1. An ancient expression of good wishes on a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wassail — Was sail, v. i. To hold a wassail; to carouse. [1913 Webster] Spending all the day, and good part of the night, in dancing, caroling, and wassailing. Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wassail — [n] celebration bash*, blast*, blowout*, carousal, ceremony, festival, festivity, frolic, gala, hoopla, hullabaloo*, joviality, jubilee, merriment, merrymaking, party, revelry, shindig*, spree, wingding*; concept 377 wassail [v] celebrate, toast… …   New thesaurus

  • wassail — mid 12c., from O.N. ves heill be healthy, a salutation, from ves, imperative of vesa to be (see WAS (Cf. was)) + heill healthy (see HEALTH (Cf. health)). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native… …   Etymology dictionary

  • wassail — archaic ► NOUN 1) spiced ale or mulled wine drunk during celebrations for Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve. 2) lively festivities involving the drinking of much alcohol. ► VERB 1) make merry with much alcohol. 2) go from house to house at… …   English terms dictionary

  • wassail — [wäs′əl, was′əl; wäs′āl΄, was′āl΄] n. [ME, earlier wæs hæil < ON ves heill, lit., be hale, be hearty (replacing OE wes hal, lit., be whole)] 1. a salutation formerly given in drinking the health of a person, as at a festivity 2. the spiced ale …   English World dictionary

  • wassail — 1. noun a) A toast to health, usually at a festival. b) The beverage served during a wassail. 2. verb a) To toast, to …   Wiktionary

  • wassail — UK [ˈwɒseɪl] / US [ˈwɑsl] / US [ˈwɑˌseɪl] verb [intransitive] Word forms wassail : present tense I/you/we/they wassail he/she/it wassails present participle wassailing past tense wassailed past participle wassailed an old word meaning to… …   English dictionary

  • wassail — I. noun Etymology: Middle English wæs hæil, washayl, from Old Norse ves heill be well, from ves (imperativesingular of vera to be) + heill healthy more at was, whole Date: 12th century 1. an early English toast to someone s health 2. a hot drink… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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