“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 a Happy New Year and God send you a Happy New Year.”
This Christmas carol and New Year’s song has been popular in England since the mid-1800s, but its origins probably go back much further than that time.
Wassailing is an old custom that goes back to the 1300s. The verb wassail comes from the noun wassail, which dates to the 1200s, and referred to an Old English custom of hospitality. A courteous host would offer a drink to a guest and toast them with the salutation wæs hæil, or "be in good health." The guest would accept the cup and respond with drinc hæil, "drink in good health." Wassail applied to the situation at which the drink was offered, and the term wassail was used to describe the actual drink passed around.
By the 1400s, wassail was used to refer specifically to a drink served at Christmastime. Wassail is usually a hot beverage made with wine, beer, or cider, augmented with spices, sugar, and usually baked apples. It is traditionally served in a large bowl.
The meaning of the verb wassail developed centuries later as carolers going around house to house during the Christmas and New Year season, singing, wishing good health and holiday cheer, and hoping to receive some wassail in return.
As with many things in life, wassailing and wassail have acquired a dark side. Sometimes those engaging in wassailing have indulged in carousing, which means drinking liquor excessively and leads to dissolute behaviour. A wassail can refer to riotous drinking and noisy partying. Hopefully your Christmas party did not degenerate into this type of conduct.
A few decades ago, I used to gather the youth group at the church for wassailing around the small community in Manitoba in which I served as pastor. We would go door to door singing Christmas carols despite freezing temperatures and blowing snow. The group always looked forward to receiving Christmas goodies and cookies from the various parishioners. One house in particular was prized as the two bachelor farmers who wintered in town gave us a box of Christmas oranges every year.
The Gloucestershire Wassail, is an English Christmas carol from the county of Gloucestershire, dating back to at least the 18th century. The author of the lyrics and the composer of the music are unknown. The first known publication of the song was in 1928 in the Oxford Book of Carols. Canadian Celtic singer and composer Loreena McKennitt (born February 17, 1957 in Morden, Manitoba) recorded a version in 2008 on her Christmas album A Midwinter Night’s Dream.
THE WASSAIL SONG
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,
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Here is to Cherry and to his right cheek, pray God send my master a good piece of beef,
And a good piece of beef that may we all see; with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Here is to Cherry and to his right eye, pray God send my master a good Christmas pie,
And a good Christmas pie that may we all see; with our wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Here is to Cherry and to his right arm, May God send my master a good crop of corn,
And a good crop of corn that may we all see; with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Here is to Cherry and to his left ear, pray God send my master a barrel of beer,
And a barrel of beer that may we all see; with our wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Here's to our cow and to her long tail pray God send our master he never may fail
A bowl of strong beer; I pray you draw near, and our jolly wassail it's then you shall hear.
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Come, butler, come fill us a bowl of the best, then I hope that your soul in heaven may rest;
But if you do draw us a bowl of the small, then down fall butler, bowl and all!
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
Where is the maid with the lily white smock, that do trip to the door and draw back the lock?
O let us all in and seek how you do, saying: Nan, if you will, we will welcome you too,
Refrain: Drink to thee, drink to thee, with the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to [email protected]. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
