Apparently while we’re experiencing the worst winter for years, Australia are suffering in a heat wave. According to Sky News , the temperature at midnight last night was 34 degrees C. The overnight temperatures equalled the record of February 1902.
Recently I have been introduced to a drink known as “wassail”. I have been reading up on the tradition of this. “Wassail” is a hot spiced punch associated with Christmas.
While the beverage typically served as "wassail" at modern holiday feasts with a medieval theme most closely resembles mulled cider, historical wassail drinks were completely different, more likely to be mulled beer or mead. Sugar, ale, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon would be placed in a bowl, heated, and topped with slices of toast as sops.
Hence the first stanza of the traditional carol the Gloucestershire Wassail dating back to the Middle Ages:
Wassail! wassail! all over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl, we'll drink to thee.
At Carhampton, near Minehead, the Apple Orchard Wassailing is held on the Old Twelfth Night (17 January). The villagers form a circle around the largest apple tree, hang pieces of toast soaked in cider in the branches for the robins, who represent the 'good spirits' of the tree. A shotgun is fired overhead to scare away evil spirits and the group sings, the following being the last verse:
Old Apple tree, old apple tree;
We've come to wassail thee;
To bear and to bow apples enow;
Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full;
Barn floors full and a little heap under the stairs.
We could have gone to the Firle Wassail at Middle Farm on Saturday night, if I wasn’t already booked. They’ve got Morris Dancers, Dave.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/CUSTOMS/Xmas/wassail.htm
No, we could not.
ReplyDeleteThank you for asking....