SC - Wassail traditions
Louise Sugar
dragonfyr at tycho.com
Thu Nov 6 05:17:29 PST 1997
A copy of an excellent reply from a very nice lady too shy to post to the
Rialto:
>Here's the section on wassail from a paper I'm writing for the local
>baronial newsletter's A&S edition:
>
>Another variation on the king-for-a-day is an English Twelfth Night
>custom that was documented in the mid-nineteenth century in
>Devonshire. On Twelfth Night, the farmers would get their weapons,
>gather around the oldest tree in the apple orchard, and sing a short
>song:
>
>Here's to thee, old apple tree
>Whence thou mayst bud and whence thou mayst blow
>And whence thou mayst bear apples enow:
>Hats full, caps full,
>Bushels, bushels, sacks full,
>And my pockets full too!
>
>The men would then fire their weapons at the tree. They returned
>to the home and would be denied entrance no matter what the weather
>by the women indoors. When one of the men guessed what sort of
>roast that was being prepared for them, all were let in. The one
>who guessed the roast was named "King for the Evening" and
>presided over the party until the wee hours.
>
>This custom of "wassailing" the apple tree is still done in the west
>country in England, and has been done for centuries. The word
>"wassail" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "wæs hæl," meaning "be whole" or
>"good health." This custom dates from a medieval story, of a Saxon
>lady named Rowena who presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine,
>toasting him with the words "wæs hæl." Over the centuries a great
>deal of ceremony had developed around the custom of drinking wassail.
> The bowl is carried into a room with great fanfare, a traditional
>carol about the drink is sung, and finally, the steaming hot beverage
>is served.
>
>
>
>
>Hope it's helpful!
>
>Yours in Service to the Dream,
>
>Karen Larsdatter
> Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia
>
Aoife
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