50-537: The Apple Wassail or Orchard Wassail is a traditional form of wassailing practiced in the cider orchards of Southern England during the winter, on either Twelfth Night (5 or 6 January) or Old Twelfth Night ("Old Twelvey", 17 January). There are many well recorded instances of the Apple Wassail in the early modern period . The first recorded mention was at Fordwich , Kent , in 1585, by which time groups of young men would go between orchards performing
100-533: A 500-year-old batch. It was mentioned and explained to Bing Crosby by Frank Sinatra in a special episode of the Frank Sinatra Show entitled "Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank" released 20 December 1957. In 2004, the alternative Christmas message was presented by The Simpsons who close out with a cup of "traditional British wassail". When the director cuts, they spit it out in disgust, with Bart remarking that it tasted "like hurl". Wassail
150-412: A close resemblance to the "Gloucestershire Wassail". In her song "Oh England My Lionheart", on the 1978 album Lionheart , Kate Bush sings, "Give me one wish, and I'd be wassailing in the orchard, my English rose." The alternative rock band Half Man Half Biscuit from Tranmere , England, included a song named "Uffington Wassail" on their 2000 album Trouble over Bridgwater . With its references to
200-496: A drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts; this practice still exists, but has largely been displaced by carol singing. The orchard-visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards in cider -producing regions of England , reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year. Notable traditional wassailing songs include " Here We Come a-Wassailing ", " Gloucestershire Wassail ", and " Gower Wassail ". According to
250-557: A good harvest the following year. According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the word "wassail" originated as a borrowing from the Old Norse salutation ves heill, corresponding to Old English hál wes þú or wes hál – literally meaning 'be in good health' or 'be fortunate'. It was initially used in the sense of 'hail' or 'farewell', without any drinking connotation. The English interjection " hail "
300-405: A happy New Year. And God send you a happy New Year. Henry David Thoreau also describes the tradition in "Wild Apples." Wassailing The tradition of wassailing (also spelled wasselling ) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail . The house-visiting wassail is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering
350-483: A howling good crop. Every twig, apples big. Every bough, apples now. Apple-tree, apple-tree, Bear good fruit, Or down with your top And up with your root. Bud well, bear well God send you fare well; Every sprig and every spray A bushel of apples next New Year Day. Here we come a wassailing Among the leaves so green, Here we come a wandering So fair to be seen. Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail too, And God bless you and send you
400-450: A large communal bowl . Modern recipes begin with a base of wine , fruit juice or mulled ale, sometimes with brandy or sherry added. Apples or oranges are often added to the mix, and some recipes also call for beaten eggs to be tempered into the drink. Great bowls turned from wood, pottery or tin often had many handles for shared drinking and highly decorated lids; antique examples can still be found in traditional pubs. Hence
450-492: A little heap under the stairs. "Lamb's wool" or "lambswool" is an early variety of wassail, brewed from ale or mead, baked apples, sugar and various spices. Next crowne the bowle full of With gentle Lambs wooll [ sic ], Adde sugar, nutmeg, and ginger, With store of ale too, And thus ye must doe, To make the Wassaile a swinger . British-Irish antiquarian Charles Vallancey proposed that
500-509: A punch bowl, Niles retorts, "Then it wouldn't be Wassail then would it?" In response, Martin looks up 'wassail' in the dictionary, defined as 'a Christmas punch'. In the Good Eats holiday special episode "The Night Before Good Eats", Alton Brown is given a wassail recipe by St. Nicholas which he then must make to appease a mob of angry carolers. In Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration, which originally aired December 21, 1987,
550-462: A variety of spellings including drinkel, drincheheil, drechehel, drincheheil, drinceseil, drinqueheil, drinkeil and dringail . The earliest example of the drinking phrases in a specifically English context comes from a manuscript of 1275, preserving a 12th-century text which has Old English : Þat freond sæiðe to freonde...Leofue freond wæs hail Þe oðer sæið Drinc hail . [That friend said to [the other] friend..., "beloved friend, wassail!";
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#1732791682920600-541: A very elaborate one in the seventeenth century, decorated with silver. It is so large that it must have passed around as a " loving cup " so that many members of the guild could drink from it. In the English Christmas carol " Gloucestershire Wassail ", the singers tell that their "bowl is made of the white maple tree, with a wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee". As white maple does not grow natively in Europe,
650-656: Is a cognate of the etymon of the second part of "wassail", and was probably influenced by the Old English phrase. The expression later became part of the drinking formula " wassail ... drinkhail" which, the OED suggests, initially arose in England among the Anglo-Danes , and from there spread to the native population, being considered a specifically Anglo Saxon characteristic by the 12th century. The earliest record
700-504: Is a hot, mulled punch often associated with Yuletide, often drunk from a ' wassail bowl '. The earliest versions were warmed mead into which roasted crab apples were dropped and burst to create a drink called 'lambswool' drunk on Lammas day, still known in Shakespeare 's time. Later, the drink evolved to become a mulled cider made with sugar, cinnamon , ginger and nutmeg , topped with slices of toast as sops and drunk from
750-617: Is followed by noise-making from the assembled crowd until the gunsmen give a final volley through the branches. The crowd then moves onto the next orchard. As the largest cider producing region of the country, the West Country hosts historic wassails annually, such as Whimple in Devon and Carhampton in Somerset , both on 17 January, or old Twelfth Night . Many new, commercial or "revival" wassails have also been introduced throughout
800-566: Is held on Old Twelfth Night (17 January) as a ritual to ask the gods for a good apple harvest. 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
850-563: Is of around 1140, in Geoffrey of Monmouth's telling of the Rowena story , which has wes heil ... drinc heil (or, in a variant reading, was heil ). Later Middle English manuscripts have a variety of spellings, including wæs hæil, wæshail, wessail, washayl, washail, wesseyl, wassayl, wassaile, wassaylle, wessayle, whatsaile and whatsaill . The second expression, "drinkhail", may derive either from Old Norse or Old English, again with
900-544: Is said to "bless" the trees to produce a good crop in the forthcoming season. A folktale from Somerset reflecting this custom tells of the Apple Tree Man , the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom the fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. In the tale a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard and is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him
950-497: Is to awaken the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the Autumn. The ceremonies of each wassail vary from village to village but they generally all have the same core elements. A wassail King and Queen lead the song or a processional tune to be played/sung from one orchard to the next; the wassail Queen is then lifted into the boughs of the tree where she places toast soaked in wassail from
1000-419: The Apple Tree Man , the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom the fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. In the tale a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard and is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried gold. Wassail bowls, generally in the shape of goblets, have been preserved. The Worshipful Company of Grocers made
1050-604: The Gregorian Calendar in 1752. In the Middle Ages , the wassail was a reciprocal exchange between the feudal lords and their peasants as a form of recipient-initiated charitable giving, to be distinguished from begging . This point is made in the song " Here We Come A-wassailing ", when the wassailers inform the lord of the house that we are not daily beggars that beg from door to door But we are friendly neighbours whom you have seen before. The lord of
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#17327916829201100-423: The Oxford English Dictionary , the word "wassail" originated as a borrowing from the Old Norse salutation ves heill, corresponding to Old English hál wes þú or wes hál ; literally meaning 'be in good health' or 'be fortunate'. It was initially used in the sense of 'hail' or 'farewell'. Later it developed into the first part of a drinking formula "wassail...drinkhail". By c. 1300, the sense had extended to
1150-563: The wassail beverage, without which the wassailers in the song will not leave; "We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here". Such complaints were also common in the early days of the United States, where the practice (and its negative connotations) had taken root by the early 1800s; it led to efforts from the American merchant class to promote a more sanitized Christmas. In the cider -producing West of England (primarily
1200-559: The 1800s list the lyric simply as saying "maplin tree", without mentioning "white". Additionally, the lyric appears to have varied significantly depending on location and other factors, calling into question how literal the term was and/or how varied the construction of wassail bowls was. For example, a 1913 publication by Ralph Vaughan Williams , who had recorded the lyric in 1909 by a wassailer in Herefordshire , recorded it as "green maple". Another version from Brockweir listed
1250-675: The Clevedon Community Orchard, combining the traditional elements of the festival with the entertainment and music of the Bristol Morris Men and their Horse. The Blackhand Cyder Society in the village of Denton, Norfolk has developed its own version with a local maiden performing the blessing. The word 'Wassail' comes from the Old English phrase 'was hál', meaning 'be well'. On either Twelfth Night (5 or 6 January) or Old Twelfth Night ("Old Twelvey", 17 January), men would go with their wassail bowl into
1300-510: The English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carol singers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy puddings'. Although wassailing is often described in innocuous and sometimes nostalgic terms—still practised in some parts of Scotland and Northern England on New Years Day as " first-footing "—the practice in England has not always been considered so innocent. Similar traditions have also been traced to Greece and
1350-669: The Israeli Eurovision contestant Dana International , the Sealed Knot English Civil War re-enactment society, and also to the skier Vreni Schneider , the meaning of the song's title in this context is a little obscure. In 2013 Folk Rock musician Wojtek Godzisz created an arrangement of the traditional Gloucestershire Wassail words with original music for the Pentacle Drummers' first Annual Wassail festival (2013), called "Wassail". For
1400-470: The Pentacle Drummers' second Wassail festival (2014), the pagan rock band Roxircle also wrote a Wassail song especially for the event called "Wassail (Give Thanks to the Earth)". The Pentacle Drummers encourage their headline acts to write a song centered around wassailing, a way to keep the tradition alive. The English progressive rock band Big Big Train released an EP entitled "Wassail" in 2015, named for
1450-885: The West Country, such as those in Stoke Gabriel and Sandford , Devon . Clevedon in North Somerset holds an annual wassailing event at the Clevedon Community Orchard, combining the traditional elements of the festival with the entertainment and music of the Bristol Morris Men . Nineteenth-century wassailers of Somerset would sing the following lyrics after drinking the cider until they were "merry and gay": 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. A folktale from Somerset reflecting this custom tells of
1500-617: The bowl as being made from mulberry . There are surviving examples of " puzzle wassail bowls ", with many spouts. As you attempt to drink from one of the spouts, you are drenched from another spout. The drink was either punch, mulled wine or spicy ale. Wassail Wassail ( / ˈ w ɒ s əl / , /- eɪ l / WOSS-əl, -ayl ) is a beverage made from hot mulled cider , ale, or wine and spices, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing , an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and salutation either involved in door-to-door charity-giving or used to ensure
1550-469: The cider-producing counties in the South West of England (primarily Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire) or South East England (Kent, Sussex, Essex, and Suffolk), as well as Jersey, wassailing refers to a traditional ceremony that involves singing and drinking to the health of trees on Twelfth Night in the hopes that they might better thrive. The purpose of wassailing
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1600-453: The clayen cup as a gift to the tree spirits (and to show the fruits created the previous year). In some counties, the youngest boy or "Tom Tit" will stand in for the Queen and hang the cider-soaked toast in the tree. Then an incantation is usually recited. A folktale from Somerset reflecting this custom tells of the Apple Tree Man , the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom
1650-632: The counties of Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire) wassailing also refers to drinking (and singing) the health of trees in the hopes that they might better thrive. Wassailing is also a traditional event in Jersey , Channel Islands where cider (cidre) made up the bulk of the economy before the 20th century. The format is much the same as that in England but with terms and songs often in Jèrriais . 17th-century English lyric poet Robert Herrick writes in his poem "The Wassail": Wassail
1700-443: The country of Georgia. Wassailing was associated with rowdy bands of young men who would enter the homes of wealthy neighbours and demand free food and drink (in a manner similar to the modern children's Halloween practice of trick-or-treating ). If the householder refused, he was usually cursed, and occasionally his house was vandalized. The example of the exchange is seen in their demand for " figgy pudding " and "good cheer", i.e.,
1750-464: The drink itself, especially to the spiced ale used in Twelfth-night and Christmas Eve celebrations, and by 1598 it was being applied to the custom of drinking healths on those nights. Traditionally, the wassail is celebrated on Twelfth Night (variously on either 5 or 6 January). Some people still wassail on "Old Twelvey Night", 17 January, as it would have been before the introduction of
1800-421: The fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. In the tale a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard and is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried gold. British folk rock band Steeleye Span opened their third album Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971) with an extended, minor-key version of " Gower Wassail ", Tim Hart singing
1850-499: The first stanza of the traditional carol Gloucestershire Wassail ; variations of which were known to have been sung as far back as the 1700s, and possibly earlier: 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 unto thee. At Carhampton , near Minehead , the Apple Orchard Wassailing
1900-462: The liquor be brown So here my old fellow I drink to thee And the very health of each other tree. Well may ye blow, well may ye bear Blossom and fruit both apple and pear. So that every bough and every twig May bend with a burden both fair and big May ye bear us and yield us fruit such a stors That the bags and chambers and house run o'er. Stand fast root, bear well top Pray the God send us
1950-687: The location of buried gold. There are many traditional songs associated with apple wassailing, but the “Apple Tree Wassail” ( Roud 209) is probably the most famous. Prominent recordings include ones by The Watersons (1975), John Kirkpatrick (1995), Boiled in Lead (2008), Jon Boden (2016), The Dreadnoughts (2023), and Oli Steadman (2024). Here's to thee, old apple tree, Whence thou mayst bud And whence thou mayst blow! And whence thou mayst bear apples enow! Hats full! Caps full! Bushel—bushel—sacks full, And my pockets full too! Huzza! Huzza, Huzza, in our good town The bread shall be white, and
2000-423: The lyric may be a reference to sycamore maple or field maple , both of which do, and both of which have white-looking wood. This is reinforced by an 1890s written account from a man describing the wassailing bowl of his friend from Gloucestershire: The bowl was one of those wooden sycamore or maple ones used to hold boiled potatoes on a farm kitchen table. Alternatively however, many formal publications from
2050-425: The manor would give food and drink to the peasants in exchange for their blessing and goodwill, i.e. Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail too; And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year This would be given in the form of the song being sung. Wassailing is the background practice against which an English carol such as " We Wish You a Merry Christmas " can be made sense of. The carol lies in
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2100-399: The orchard and go about the trees. Slices of bread or toast were laid at the roots and sometimes tied to branches. Cider was also poured over the tree roots, and sometimes over the toast. Then they would make lots of noise, singing, banging pots and pans together, and firing off guns, to scare away any malignant spirits in the orchard. Many festivities also include morris dancing . The ceremony
2150-495: The other said, "drinkhail!"] By c. 1300, the sense had extended from a toast to the drink itself, especially to the spiced ale used in Twelfth-night and Christmas Eve celebrations. By 1598 it was being applied to the custom of drinking healths on those nights. Shakespeare's 1603 use of "Keep wassel" in Hamlet i. iv. 10 was the first record of the term's use in a more general sense of " carousal " or "revelling". Wassail
2200-495: The rite for a reward. Among the most famous wassail ceremonies are those in Whimple , Devon and Carhampton , Somerset, both on Old Twelfth Night, 17 January. The practice was sometimes referred to as "howling". There are also many new revival wassails springing up all over the West Country and further afield, such as those in Stoke Gabriel and Sandford , Devon . Clevedon in north Somerset holds an annual Wassailing event in
2250-640: The song and/or a processional tune played or sung from one orchard to the next. The wassail Queen will then be lifted up into the boughs of the tree where she will place toast soaked in Wassail from the Clayen Cup as a gift to the tree spirits (and to show the fruits created the previous year). Then an incantation is usually recited, such as: 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! This incantation
2300-730: The term "lambswool" is a corruption of the name of a pagan Irish festival, "Lamas Ubhal" , during which a similar drink was had. Alternatively, the name may derive from the drink's similar appearance to the wool of lambs . Ale is occasionally replaced by ginger ale for children, especially around Halloween and New Year . 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! Here's to thee, old apple-tree, Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow, And whence thou mayst bear apples enow! [enough] Hats-full! Caps-full! Bushel, bushel sacks-full! And my pockets full, too! Hurra! In
2350-520: The title track. Yorkshire -based folk singer Kate Rusby included the track "Cornish Wassail" on her 2015 album, The Frost Is All Over . Wassail was mentioned in the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo ask Mike Nelson to provide some. When asked to explain further what exactly wassail is, they admit to having no idea. However, they offer a guess that it might be an "anti-inflammatory". Upon actually getting some, they describe it as "skunky", discovering it to be
2400-402: The traditional verses and the others joining the chorus. The British rock band Blur released a song titled "The Wassailing Song", with each member taking a verse. The release was limited to 500 7-inch pressings, given out at a concert in 1992. The version of "The Wassailing Song" performed by Blur was later adapted in a recording by The Grizzly Folk , who have stated that the arrangement bears
2450-426: 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 purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in autumn. The ceremonies of each wassail vary from village to village but they generally all have the same core elements. A wassail King and Queen lead
2500-677: Was featured on the BBC Two special Oz and Hugh Drink to Christmas , aired in December 2009. Oz Clarke and Hugh Dennis sampled the drink and the wassailing party in Southwest England as part of their challenge to find Britain's best Christmas drinks. During the episode "We Two Kings" on the NBC sitcom Frasier , the title character's brother Niles asks to borrow his wassail bowl; when Frasier's father Martin asks why they can't just use
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