For centuries, wassailing was a popular part ofChristmas and New Year celebrations.The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Old Norse for ‘good health’, and wassailinggenerallyinvolveddrinking to peoples’ health,oftenwhile singing about it.
Special communal drinking bowlsdeveloped. Thesecould be large like thegrand sharing bowl on display in our 17thCentury Room, or small like this cup which is believed to be part of a door-to-door wassail set.
Large bowls were owned by well-to-do households, who filled themwitha type ofspiced alecalledlambswool. First,the head of the household would raise the wassail bowl and drink to the health of everyone present– like a modern-day toast– then the bowl wouldbepassed around the room, and everyone would take a drink.
Poorer households had a different wassailing tradition. Inthe 1870s theYorkshire Magazinewrote that poorfamilieswoulddecoratean empty bowl with ribbonsand takeit door-to-door on New Year’s Eve, singing wassail songsand asking for something to help fillit up. Some people asked for spiced ale, some asked for food, and some asked for money.
A wassail songwritten downin 1843tells us what was expected from the people they visited.
Goodmasterand goodmistress, as you sit by the fire,
Consider us poor wassailers, who travel through themire.
Goodmasterand goodmistress, if you will be but willing
Come send us out your eldest son with a sixpence or a shilling.
The song goes on to ask the good master and goodmistressto send out white bread, Christmas cheeseandroast beef, in other words, to share their Christmas feast and good fortune.
The charitable side of wassailing seems to have begun in themiddle agesas anobligation owed by landowners to their tenants.It developed into an expected act of charity given by those whohadsomething to spare.It was never thought of as begging,and that’smade clear in some of the songs. This was sungby wassailing childrenin Yorkshire untilthe 20thcentury:
We are not daily beggars
That beg from door to door
But we are neighbours’ children
That you have seen before
Over the centurieswassailingsplitinto differentactivities,andevendeveloped intoa practice designed togain good luck.
In the countryside, farmerswouldgo outin groups withtheir spiced ale,wassailingto the animals and sometimes also trees in the orchards.By singing and toasting their health, farming communities hopedto ensure the prosperity of crops and livestock in the coming year.
Children had their own wassailing tradition. Instead of spiced ale, they carried the wassail box (also called the Milky Box, Advent Box and Vessel Box). This was especially popular in Yorkshire, and happened on New Year’s Eve, Twelfth Night – the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, usually January 6th – and sometimes in the run-up to Christmas too.
Traditionally, Yorkshire children opened doors without knocking and began singing the popular carol ‘God rest ye merry gentlemen’. Then, the children would ask if anyone wanted to look inside the box. If no-one did, they would simply leave. But if people wanted to look inside, the children would open the box to reveal two tiny dolls. These represented the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.
Wassail dolls were producedcommerciallyin Yorkshire until the 19thcentury, but dolls could also be home made. The box was generally re-used; our wassail box started life as a chocolate box.
Wassailingfell out of popularity during the 19thcentury,largelyreplaced by carolling,but the act of drinking to the health of friends and family in the festive seasoncarriedon, andis as popularnowasit has ever been.
Blog by Dr M Faye Prior
