Today I woke up and decided I was going to go out and wassell. I had to look it up first. Even how to spell it. Of course, it isn’t wassell. However, that is how it sounds. The word is “wassail.”
If we consult the dictionary, which I did, we find it is both a noun and a verb.
As a noun, wassail is a spiced ale or mulled wine drunk during Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve celebrations. I’m told there are big bowls of the stuff.
The other noun side of wassail is the lively and noisy festivities involving plentiful amounts of alcohol.
Well, after reading the noun versions, I figured I would have to chuck my plans to wassail, as I haven’t had a drink in nearly two decades.
Moving along to the verb, I found it is to drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way.
Or. It is to go from house to house at Christmas singing carols.
Neither one of these was what I had in mind. I mean, from the song, it sounds much different. Sing along here:
Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green;
Here we come a-wand’ring
So fair to be seen.
Wandering around in leaves so green. Being fair. Being seen. This seemed more up my alley.
But clearly, these two things were not matching up. Further investigation ensued.
I found that wassailing goes back a long way. It seems these celebrations were being enjoyed in Britain many years before Christianity began to spread there. This all started from around the year 600 onwards.
Back then, at the beginning of each year, there’d be a party. The lord of the manor would greet everyone with the toast “waes hael” which meant “be well.” Then they would drink a glass or two of their ale.
What was in the wassail drink? Mostly it was a warmed ale, wine, or cider, blended with spices, honey, and perhaps an egg or two. They put it in one huge bowl. Then, they passed that bowl from one person to the next. Wassail.
But here’s the thing. There are two distinct variations of wassailing.
One involves a group of party hounds going from one house to another. They have that wassail bowl in hand, and they sing traditional songs. All in good cheer.
The other form of wassailing is quite different. It is generally practiced in the English countryside, mostly in the places where fruit is grown. And they go about blessing the trees.
This type of wassailing, or blessing of the fruit trees, involves singing to the health of the trees. This, in hopes that they will provide a big bunch of fruit in the autumn.
I learned that this ancient custom is still practiced across England today. Mostly, it happens in the cider-producing areas such as Somerset, Devon, Herefordshire, Kent, and Sussex.
Here is how they proceed. Generally, it involves a Wassail King and Queen. These two lead the assembled group of well-wishers. Mostly farmers. They go in a noisy procession from one orchard to the next.
At each stop, they gather around the biggest and best tree. Then, as a gift to the tree spirits, the Queen places a piece of wassail-soaked toast into its branches, accompanied by songs. Wassail Toast.
So finally, it seems, I have found my way to wassail. I made toast. I soaked it in water and flung it into our trees, blessing them all. I’ll let everyone know if any of them bear fruit next year. And today I went a-wassailing.
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“The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”
― Hellen Keller
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“Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish.”
― Munia Khan
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“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.”
― Chad Sugg
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Today, I shall wassail. If I can.
