"We are not daily beggars that beg from door to door,
but we are friendly neighbors whom you have seen before"
This line from the traditional English carol Here We Come A Wassailing makes the distinction that those who come to the homeowner's door are not random visitors, such as in the fashion of those who went from house to house seeking "treats or tricks" at Samhain. This was the ancient precursor to singing Christmas carols made famous in Victorian times. The reason for this visit was meant as a blessing for abundance for the household, or the farm. Wassailers came to the threshold to 'drink a health' and the ritual was exchanged between friends and neighbors. No one attempted to hide their identity as one did when guising, masks and costumes were seldom worn. This was not the outrageous visit of the celebration of Misrule, but an act of congeniality.
The singers honored the homeowner with a sung prayer or carol, then joined the benevolent host in drinking a toast to everyone's welfare in the coming year. The carols were often songs citing not only the blessing of abundant crops, but the multiplicity of the animals-and humans-in the home. In this day and age it's difficult to understand that a farmer would want a huge family, as there would be that many more mouths to feed...but many children also meant many hands to labor in the fields.
Sometimes the wassailing took place in an orchard among the fruit trees, or where the livestock were kept. The drink of choice was hot spiced ale or cider, meant to warm the bones and the soul; often it lead to an impromptu bonfire or feast, where many 'healths' were drunk. Alcoholic and heavily spiced beverages were believed to help in keeping away the myriad diseases of men (and animals, as sometimes the beverage was mixed with the feed, or the mash from distilling was fed to the animals.) Afterward, the group moved on to another house to repeat the ritual; one can imagine the revelry and drunkenness that resulted from making several of these visits in a single evening.
A version of wassailing/blessing took place in Scotland, where the spirit of the sea was similarly honored by a hearty soul wading out into the cold water to pour a frothing mug of hot ale or cider into the waves in the hope that it would result in a plentiful supply of fish and shellfish for those who made their living on and by the water.* [*Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions, by David Pickering]
but we are friendly neighbors whom you have seen before"
This line from the traditional English carol Here We Come A Wassailing makes the distinction that those who come to the homeowner's door are not random visitors, such as in the fashion of those who went from house to house seeking "treats or tricks" at Samhain. This was the ancient precursor to singing Christmas carols made famous in Victorian times. The reason for this visit was meant as a blessing for abundance for the household, or the farm. Wassailers came to the threshold to 'drink a health' and the ritual was exchanged between friends and neighbors. No one attempted to hide their identity as one did when guising, masks and costumes were seldom worn. This was not the outrageous visit of the celebration of Misrule, but an act of congeniality.
" God bless the master of this house and bless the Mistress,too,
And all the little children that 'round the table go"
And all the little children that 'round the table go"
Sometimes the wassailing took place in an orchard among the fruit trees, or where the livestock were kept. The drink of choice was hot spiced ale or cider, meant to warm the bones and the soul; often it lead to an impromptu bonfire or feast, where many 'healths' were drunk. Alcoholic and heavily spiced beverages were believed to help in keeping away the myriad diseases of men (and animals, as sometimes the beverage was mixed with the feed, or the mash from distilling was fed to the animals.) Afterward, the group moved on to another house to repeat the ritual; one can imagine the revelry and drunkenness that resulted from making several of these visits in a single evening.
A version of wassailing/blessing took place in Scotland, where the spirit of the sea was similarly honored by a hearty soul wading out into the cold water to pour a frothing mug of hot ale or cider into the waves in the hope that it would result in a plentiful supply of fish and shellfish for those who made their living on and by the water.* [*Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions, by David Pickering]
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