The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #116913 Message #1362353
Posted By: GUEST,jim hancock
21-Dec-04 - 08:07 AM
Thread Name: Folklore: Stupid Question but what is Wassail
Subject: RE: What is a wassail/wassailing?
It comes from the Anglo Saxon - Waes Heil - meaning "be whole" or "be healthy" and involved drinking to communal health from a large wooden bowl. The bowl was filled with hot ale and nutmeg, toast and roasted crab apples, So next time you "drink a toast" to someone's health you're using a tradition at least 1500 years old.