Many of us have heard the song “Here We Come A Wassailing.” But what does it mean? Wassailing is now the tradition of traveling from house to house singing, eating, drinking, and visiting with friends and relatives. However, wassailing was originally an important horticultural ritual.

Traditionally, the persons wassailing would bring wassail with them on their travels. Recipes for wassail often included cider, ale, and/or wine. This mixture was served in a large bowl garnished with roasted apples with small pieces of toast floating on the top of the liquid. Thus, the expression “to propose a toast.”

The word wassail is derived from both an Anglo-Saxon greeting “Waes hal” and the variation of a Viking greeting, “Ves heill.” These greetings, loosely interpreted, mean, “Be in good health.” Wassailers were invited into the home to share food and fellowship. As time went on, the greeting soon became synonymous with the word wassail.