AWassailing

AWassailing is a traditional Christmas custom in which groups travel from door to door singing songs and offering a toast from a wassail bowl in exchange for hospitality. The practice stems from the broader wassailing tradition found in medieval England and Wales, a ritual intended to promote health and good fortune for households and crops in the coming year. The term is derived from Old English and Old Norse roots, with wassail meaning “be in good health” or “your health,” often invoked in toasts.

During AWassailing, participants—often called wassailers or carolers—dress in festive attire and perform short verses or traditional wassail songs. They typically carry a communal bowl filled with warm spiced drinks such as mulled ale or cider. After reciting or singing, the household ladles a portion into the bowl or into the drinker’s cup and wishes the group well; in return, they give the wassailers a drink or food and sometimes money or small tokens. The tradition occasionally includes verses that bless the household or ask for a successful harvest, and it is sometimes linked to Twelfth Night celebrations or Christmas Eve.

Regional variation exists, with especially strong records in parts of England such as Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire, as well as Wales. In modern times, AWassailing is often revived as a cultural or heritage activity, appearing at village fêtes, historical reenactments, or educational programs, rather than as a routine winter custom. It is closely related to caroling, mumming, and other seasonal door-to-door performances.