By Kari Tauring and Jim McGuire

When we think of wassail, the songs of England may come to mind. “Here we go a wassailing upon the leaves of green…” It summons the smell of cider, spices, and ale. But where did this tradition come from?

The tradition, like the word, was brought to England by Viking settlers. The word comes from Middle English waes haeil, which comes from Old Norse ves heill meaning be well. Ves (imperitive singular of vera to be) + heill healthy, 13th Century. According to legend, King Vortigern (circa 425 AD) was the first person to be “wassailed” in England. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “History of the Kings of Britain” describes Vortigern being entertained by Hengist the Jute (who, along with his brother Horsa, was amongst the first Saxons to settle in England). Hegist’s daughter Renwein entered the room with a goblet of ale. As the Lady of the House, she would offer the drink first. Approaching Vortiegern, she curtsied and called out “Lavert king, was hail!” (Lord king, to your health). He was told that the proper response was “drink hail!”

This formalized ceremony is practiced today as blot or symbel within Heathenry. The formal order is that the head woman in a house would begin the toasting and bring the horn from the highest to the lowest of the household guests. She would assure that there was enough in the horn for each guest, that their toasts were properly said, and that there were no oaths or binding words spoken into the horn without further formality. No causal words can be spoken, no lies, and no words of enmity. The horn represents the well of wyrd of the household and of the world tree.

The concept of formal drinking ritual called “wassail” grew and changed in the passing centuries and wassailing became synonymous with any festive occasion or meeting with much drinking and pledging of healths, drinking bouts and carousing. The liquor used on such occasions, especially around Christmas or the New Year became known as wassail.

Many merry drinking songs and poems became known as wassails and the wassailer as one who wassails; a merry maker; a reveler.

Wassailing became a seasonal tradition surrounding fruit trees throughout the English countryside. With the first pressing of the apple harvest the trees are blessed with the juices of the first harvest. The date that this begins depends upon the climate, usually sometime in September. Apple traditions continue with caramel apples and the game “bobbing for apples” at Samhain.

By Yuletide, the cider has generally turned hard, or (as my great-grandmother would say) “hoopy hoppy” and the apples in the cellar are shriveled and sad looking. There are recipes for “Wassail” which include warming the hard cider (taking the edge off of its potency), adding spices and floating baked apples in the punch bowl, renewing their life. Wassail bowl is a good way to use up some of the dried and stored foods and the Yule feast includes an abundance of preserved meats, puddings which use dried berries and nuts, baked goods which use up last years flour, and the cider which has begun to turn. Spices were a rare and heavenly addition to the meal.

At Yule, the wassailing ritual was three fold. To wassail the hall is to hold a formal toast at the table, with guests and family around you. To wassail the house was to go from door to door with the drink. The revelers would receive food and more drink from neighbors and then bless each house with a wassail. Wassailing the orchard took the revelers and probably the whole community out to the orchard where the trees would be blessed, sung to, and libated. This last wassailing often took place on Twelfth Night, January 6th and signaled the end to the Christmas “days of feasting,” a last hurrah. Or should I say a last wassail?

In my family, we like to wassail the hall, house, and orchard on Twelfth Night. It gives us hopefulness as we ask the trees to bear well in the spring. The following are some old rhymes, songs, and recipes for you to enjoy this season.

To your health!

Kari and Jim

The Rhymes of Apple Wassail

1.
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.

-Robert Herrick (1591-1674) “Ceremonies of Christmas Eve”

2.

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!

South Hams of Devon, 1871

3.

Huzza, Huzza, in our good town
The bread shall be white, and 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.

Cornworthy, Devon, 1805

4.

Stand fast root, bear well top
Pray the God send us a howling good crop.
Every twig, apples big.
Every bough, apples now.

-19th century Sussex, Surrey

5.

Apple-tree, apple-tree,
Bear good fruit,
Or down with your top
And up with your root.

-19th century S. Hams.

6.

Bud well, bear well
God send you fare well;
Every sprig and every spray
A bushel of apples next New Year Day.

-19th century Worcestershire

Source: The Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton
7.

Blowe, blowe, bear well,
Spring well in April,
Every sprig and every spray
Bear a bushel of apples against
Next new year’s day

-Painswick in Gloucestershire

8.

Health to thee, good apple tree,
Well to bear pocket fulls, hat fulls,
Peck fulls, bushel bag fulls

Hats full! Caps full!
Bushel – bushel – sacks full
And my pockets full too! Huzza!

-1791 The Gentleman’s Magazine South Devon

9.

Old apple tree, we’ll wassail thee,
And hoping thou wilt bear.
The Lord does know where we shall be
To be merry another year.
To blow well and to bear well,
And so merry let us be;
Let ev’ry man drink up his cup
And health to the apple tree.

Apple Tree we greet you now

With highest honors to endow
As you lay sleeping this winter’s day

Dream of bud and fruit

Full branches and deep root

10.

Apple, plum, and pear tree grow
Your roots are warm beneath the snow
When springtime does appear
Sprout leaf and bloom call honey bee
Oh loving tree, we will greet thee
And honor you once more

-          Tauring, Minneapolis 2000

Wassail, Tauring ©1999

1. F, C

Wassail Wassail all over the town.  The snow it is white and the Ale it is brown.

The mistletoe’s hung and the oak log is round, so sing we this Solstice around and around.

2.

The pudding is baking the turkey is fine.  The ham is all smoked and there’s fish on the line.

The tree is all dressed with the candles sublime.  So now all we need is the Wassail and Wine.

Wassail

Recipes

Jim’s Quick Wassail

Take any good hot spiced non-alcoholic cider and mix 3 parts cider with 1 part cinnamon schapps.

Kari’s Quick Wassail

Same as above only add 1 shot of dark rum.

Wassail

1 gallon hard apple cider                     12 small apples, peeled with cores removed

½ cup sugar if cider is tart                  2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg                       2 cups heavy whipping cream

¼ tsp powdered cinnamon                  ¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp powdered ginger                       2 Tbsp. brown sugar

In a large enameled pot, slowly heat ¾ of the cider until warm but not boiling. In another enameled pot, pour remaining cider and add apples, sugar, spices and bring to a boil.

Vigorously simmer the apples until they lose their shape and become “frothy”. Combine the two liquids and pour into a heatproof bowl. Whip the cream with salt and brown sugar until it peaks. Spoon the cream onto the wassail or add the cream to each tankard as it is served. Apple cider listed can be substituted by dry white wine, light ale or stout beer.

Glogg

The Scandinavian mulled drink – if you want to get back to the roots of the occasion!

2 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine

2 ounces dried orange zest

2 ounces cinnamon sticks

20 whole cardamom seeds

25 whole cloves

1 pound blanched almonds

1 pound raisins

1 pound sugar cubes

5 fluid ounces brandy

Pour wine into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Wrap orange zest, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and cloves in cheesecloth, tie with kitchen string and put into pot. Let boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in almonds and raisins and continue to boil for 15 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Place a wire grill over the pot and cover with sugar cubes. Slowly pour on brandy, making sure to completely saturate the sugar. Light sugar with a match and let it flame. When sugar has melted, cover pot with lid to extinguish flame.

Stir and remove spice bag. Serve hot in cups with a few almonds and raisins.

Glogg (less fancy kind)

1 1/2 cups Brandy
1/2 bottle Red Wine
4 Hole Cloves
2 Cardamom Pods – crushed
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Blanched Almonds
3/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp. Brown Sugar

Combine everything in a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stir often to dissolve the sugar.
Once heated thoroughly reduce heat to low. Serve Warm.