Crock Pot Wassail - Recipes That Crock! (2024)

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What is the origin of wassail? ›

The text of the carol employs noun and verb forms of “wassail,” a word derived from the Old Norse ves heil and the Old English was hál and meaning “be in good health” or “be fortunate.” The phrase found first use as a simple greeting, but the Danish-speaking inhabitants of England seem to have turned was hail, and the ...

If you don't finish the entire batch (we hardly ever do) then just throw it in a pitcher in the fridge and pull it out to reheat when you want to serve it again! It can be warmed up in the microwave, stovetop or slow cooker!

Wassail (/ˈwɒsəl/, /-eɪl/ WOSS-əl, -⁠ayl, most likely from Old Norse "ves heill") is a beverage made from hot mulled cider, ale, or wine and spices, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and salutation either involved in door-to-door charity-giving or used to ...

Why wassail? The intention was to ward off bad spirits from the orchards whilst also pleasing the spirits of the fruit trees, to ensure a bountiful crop of fruit in the year ahead.

The word 'Wassail' comes from the Anglo Saxon toast 'waes hael' – meaning 'be well' or 'be in good health'. This ceremony promotes the health of the trees and encourages a bountiful harvest, traditionally taking place around the old Twelfth Night (January 17).

The purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in autumn. The ceremonies of each wassail vary from village to village but they generally all have the same core elements.

As England became a Christianized nation, farmers began wassailing on the Twelfth Night of Christmas, asking the Infant Christ to bless the trees and grant them good fruit. Wassailing eventually became the practice of going door-to-door with bowls of wassail, singing and sometimes expecting recompense.

The first recorded mention of this was at Fordwich, Kent way back in 1585. On Twelfth Night, men took their wassail bowl into the orchard and went about the trees. Slices of bread or toast were laid at the roots, and sometimes tied to branches, and cider was poured over the tree roots to “wassail” them.

In the Welsh tradition, when wassailing house to house, the group would sing Welsh language songs and indulge in a ritual known as 'pwnco' which is an exchange of rhymes with the householder.

There are many well recorded instances of the Apple Wassail in the early modern period. The first recorded mention was at Fordwich, Kent, in 1585, by which time groups of young men would go between orchards performing the rite for a reward. The practice was sometimes referred to as "howling".