 |
The tradition of wassailing (also spelled wasselling)[1] falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail. The house-visiting wassail, which traditionally occurs on the twelfth day of Christmastide known as Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve (January 5), is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts; this practice still exists, but has largely been displaced by carol singing.[2][3] The orchard-visiting wassail refers to the custom of visiting orchards in cider-producing regions of England and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year.[4][5] Notable traditional wassailing songs include "Here We Come a-Wassailing", "Gloucestershire Wassail", and "Gower Wassail".
- ^ Sussex Entymology Doreathea Hurst, History and Antiquities of Horsham, Farncombe & Co, 1889
- ^ Bhagat, Dhruti (4 January 2019). "The Origins and Practice of Holidays: Twelfth Night, Gurpurab Guru Gobindh Singh, Epiphany, Día de los Reyes". Boston Public Library. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
- ^ Kvamme, Torstein O. (1935). The Christmas Carolers' Book in Song & Story. Alfred Music. p. 6. ISBN 9781457466618.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Castle, Brian (21 December 2018). "Wassailing in a digital age". Church Times. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
The ritual has obvious Christian features: wassailing is, effectively, blessing the tree.
- ^ Palmer, K.; Patten, R. W. (December 1971). "Some Notes on Wassailing and Ashen Faggots in South and West Somerset". Folklore. 82 (4): 281–291. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1971.9716741.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search