The word 'wassail' comes from the Old English 'waes hael' meaning 'be healthy', but came to denote the practice of travelling from house to house, demanding food and drink in return for a few verses of whatever carol the singers could remember at the time.
Did you know...?
The expression 'to drink a toast' originates with the custom of wassailing?
You will find many other such tasty morsels of information in my book Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts.
A Wassail Bowl, full to the brim!
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