Wassailing
Wassailing and caroling are often used interchangeable as terms for singers going from house to house. But in the Regency era, particularly in cider producing regions, wassailing had a different meaning
This article is part of the An Historical Christmas collection, where you can explore more festive foods, forgotten customs, and holiday entertainments.
Wassailers might go from door to door, with a large wassail bowl filled with spiced ale. They sang and drank to the health of those they visited. In return recipients of their blessings gave them drink, money and Christmas food.
On the Twelfth Night or its eve, wassailers also blessed orchards and fields. A wassail King and Queen lead the singers in a tune as they traversed from one orchard to the next. In some traditions, the Queen would be lifted into one of the trees, often the largest, where she placed wassail soaked toast as a gift to the tree spirits.
Other customs had the men bless tree and drink to its health. They would circle the largest tree in the orchard while singing and splashing it with cider. The rest of the group would sing, shout, blow horns, and bang drums or pots, until gunmen fired a volley into the branches in hopes of chasing away evil spirits. Sometimes fires were lit and tended through the night while the wassailers went to the next orchard.
In Herefordshire, wheat fields were lit with bonfires and wassailed similarly to orchards.
Explore more festive foods, forgotten customs, and holiday entertainments.
Or follow your curiosity into…
Games and Frivolities
Discover how our ancestors made merry during the holidays.
Want to spend a little longer in Christmas past?
Discover the real traditions of the Regency holiday season in A Jane Austen Christmas, or join Elizabeth and Darcy for a festive visit to Pemberley in The Darcys’ First Christmas. After all, reading about a Regency Christmas is delightful. Spending one with the Darcys might be even better.
Well, that is different. I suppose any occasion to drink and ‘wassail’ with your friends would be welcomed. Merry Christmas.