Wassailing facts for kids
Wassailing is an old tradition that involves singing and celebrating. It has two main types. One is when people go door-to-door, singing and sharing a special drink from a "wassail bowl." They might get gifts in return. This is a bit like modern carolling. The other type of wassailing is when people visit orchards, especially where cider is made in England. They sing and say special words to the trees. This is done to help the trees grow lots of fruit for the next year. Some famous wassailing songs are "Here We Come a-Wassailing" and "Gloucestershire Wassail".
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What Does Wassail Mean?
The word "wassail" comes from an old language called Old Norse. It started as a greeting, ves heill, which means 'be in good health' or 'be lucky'. It was like saying 'hello' or 'goodbye'.
Later, it became part of a drinking cheer: "wassail...drinkhail." Around the year 1300, the word also started to mean the drink itself. This was often a spiced ale used during Twelfth-night and Christmas Eve parties. By 1598, it described the custom of drinking to people's health on these special nights.
Wassailing Traditions and History
Wassailing is usually celebrated on Twelfth Night, which is either January 5 or 6. Some people still celebrate on "Old Twelvey Night," which is January 17. This date was used before the Gregorian Calendar was introduced in 1752.
Wassailing in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, wassailing was a way for feudal lords and their peasants to share things. Lords would give food and drink to the peasants. In return, the peasants would offer their good wishes and blessings. This was different from just begging.
The song "Here We Come A-wassailing" shows this idea. The singers tell the lord of the house:
we are not daily beggars that beg from door to door
But we are friendly neighbours whom you have seen before.
The peasants would sing good wishes, like:
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail too;
And God bless you and send you
a Happy New Year
This exchange is why songs like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" make sense. Wealthy people would give treats, like 'figgy puddings', to carolers on Christmas Eve.
Wassailing and Good Cheer
While wassailing often sounds like a gentle, old tradition, it wasn't always so calm. In some places, groups of young men would visit wealthy homes. They would ask for free food and drinks, a bit like how children do trick-or-treating on Halloween today. If the homeowner said no, they might get cursed, and sometimes their house would have minor trouble.
For example, in the song, the wassailers demand "figgy pudding" and "good cheer" (the wassail drink). They sing, "We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here." This shows how they expected to receive something. This kind of demanding behavior led to efforts to make Christmas celebrations more peaceful in the early 1800s.
Orchard Wassailing: Helping the Trees
In the West of England, where a lot of cider is made, wassailing also means drinking to the health of trees. People hope this will make the trees grow better. This tradition is also found in Jersey, Channel Islands, where cider was very important to the economy.
The poet Robert Herrick wrote about this in his poem "The Wassail":
Wassail the trees, that they may bear
You many a plum and many a pear:
For more or less fruits they will bring,
As you do give them wassailing.
The Wassail Ceremony
The main goal of orchard wassailing is to "wake up" the cider apple trees. It also aims to scare away evil spirits. This is believed to help make sure there's a good fruit harvest in the autumn.
The ceremonies are a bit different in each village, but they all have similar parts:
- A wassail King and Queen lead the singing or music from one orchard to the next.
- The wassail Queen is lifted into the tree branches. She places toast soaked in Wassail from a special Clayen Cup there. This is a gift for the tree spirits and a way to show the fruits from the past year.
- Then, a special chant is often said, like:
Here's to thee, old apple tree,
That blooms well, bears well.
Hats full, caps full,
Three bushel bags full,
An' all under one tree.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
- After the chant, everyone makes a lot of noise. Sometimes, people with guns fire them into the branches.
- Then, the crowd moves to the next orchard to repeat the ceremony.
Famous Wassails and Folktales
The West Country has many old wassails each year, like in Whimple in Devon and Carhampton in Somerset. Both are held on January 17, or "Old Twelfth Night." Many new wassailing events have also started, combining old traditions with music and entertainment.
A folktale from Somerset tells about the Apple Tree Man. This is the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard. People believed the orchard's ability to grow fruit came from him. In the story, a man gives his last mug of warm cider to his trees. The Apple Tree Man then rewards him by showing him where gold is buried.
Wassail Bowls: Special Drinking Cups
Wassail bowls are special cups, often shaped like goblets. Some very fancy ones have been kept from hundreds of years ago. For example, the Worshipful Company of Grocers made a large silver one in the 1600s. It was so big that many people from the group could drink from it, like a "loving cup."
In the English Christmas carol "Gloucestershire Wassail", the singers say their "bowl is made of the white maple tree." Since white maple doesn't grow naturally in Europe, they might be talking about sycamore maple or field maple. These trees do grow there and have light-colored wood. An old account from the 1890s described a wassailing bowl as "one of those wooden sycamore or maple ones used to hold boiled potatoes."
However, the exact type of wood might have changed depending on the area. Some old songs mention "green maple" or even "mulberry" wood for the bowls.
Some wassail bowls are "puzzle wassail bowls" with many spouts. If you try to drink from one spout, you might get wet from another! The drink inside was usually punch, mulled wine, or spicy ale.
Images for kids
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Sharing the wassail bowl
See also
- Apple Day
- First-foot
- Jasličkári
- Koliada
- Mari Lwyd
- Mummers' play
- Julebukking, Scandinavia
- Wassail
- Wish tree
- Yule goat
- Polaznik
