Folkwales has an interesting article which shows how some aspects of it are English and some Welsh. In particular, one element was that Phil served as a "bidder", which doubled as the wassail leader, who competed with the householders in rhyming, much as some of the debate here tries to outwit the opposition. There were a number of ways to win that informal battle, by including local references (much as London Cockney has a vector referring to local events), by the simple elegance of the rhyme, by the wit or invention in the invective, and I think that should be reflected in performance here. If the householder won, then he was under no obligation to be hospitable - but then again, he wouldn't win, would he?