4 ms·

How to Revive Wassailing

47 points by tintinnabula 3y ago

warkdarrior 3y ago
Sometimes you need an excuse for a party.
gnufx 3y ago
There's a fair amount of wassailing around. I'll be at one of the two episodes just in the environs of Runcorn next weekend. "We hope that your apple trees blossom and bear so we may have cider when we call next year" is a worthy sentiment!
gerdesj 3y ago
"Twelfth Night ... which for most people in Britain now passes unnoticed" Nowadays that is when you take the tree and decs down. Times change. Back in the day, the bleak mid winter was really bleak. The twelve days of Christmas was quite a thing, when not much else could happen in a largely agrarian society. Each day had a name and a meaning and customs which might be followed. At last one involved a Roman style saturnalian role reversal - the lord became the servant and the servant the master. How much of all that stuff would be performed probably varied from area to area, just as modern xmas customs do today (bah humbug) Nowadays wassailing is all that's left of an old custom and an old way of saying cheers and perhaps also the old English equivalent of the Italian "ciao". Was hal!
- crazygringo 3y ago
  > Back in the day, the bleak mid winter was really bleak. The twelve days of Christmas was quite a thing This is what I've never understood. The end of December isn't bleak. And it's not mid-winter -- it's only been winter for a few days. Bleak mid-winter is the end of January, the start of February. That's when it's bad. That's when it's coldest. That's when people get depressed. In the snowy northern parts of the world, I've often wished Christmas could be then, to help with people's moods. Having it at the very start of winter feels like you're wasting all the cheer before we've gotten to the actual bleak mid-winter when you really need it!
  - pacaro 3y ago
    I have always understood this to be a compromise between the longest night and the coldest days, sure in late January it is colder, but you can tell that the days are getting longer, the effect is more pronounced the farther north you are, and remember that the southernmost part of the British isles is north of the lower 48
  - Tao3300 3y ago
    > Bleak mid-winter is the end of January, the start of February Perfect timing for ones willpower to sputter out and for New Year's Resolutions to be abandoned. Jan 1 is the worst possible timing to decide to embark on any positive lifestyle change.
    - crazygringo 3y ago
      Ha, I never thought of that. So true. New Year's resolutions should be made on the first day of spring -- Mar 19 this year!
      - aspenmayer 3y ago
        It also explains why socks are actually a quite nice gift, as you get them before you'll need them, which historically is the best time, considering the alternative may be to receive them not at all. In that view, a lump of coal doesn't seem half bad either! I think the focus there is on the miserly portion, not the utility of the gift (or lack thereof). Reading tradition(s) in this way really helps put fictional accounts such as A Christmas Carol and traditional celebrations themselves in a more charitable light. It's a bit late, but I wish you season's greetings and a happy new year, whenever and however you celebrate, if and when you do.
      - Tao3300 3y ago
        That's exactly my thinking. Even time to slim down a bit for summer.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- 7thaccount 3y ago
  Drinc hail!
cafard 3y ago
The neighborhood listserv just delivered an invitation to Twelfth Night wassailing at Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park, from 5 to 7 pm. I will not be attending since a) we have guests, b) the forecast is for cold rain, and c) my singing voice is not particularly good.
rm445 3y ago
That's nice. I try to create ceremony for Twelfth Night with my family, essentially to keep the Christmas spirit going a bit longer. We turn off the lights on the house together, sing The Twelve Days of Christmas together one more time, and take down the tree. Definitely need to add some orchard-blessing.

47 points by tintinnabula 3y ago

Sometimes you need an excuse for a party.

There's a fair amount of wassailing around. I'll be at one of the two episodes just in the environs of Runcorn next weekend. "We hope that your apple trees blossom and bear so we may have cider when we call next year" is a worthy sentiment!

gerdesj 3y ago

"Twelfth Night ... which for most people in Britain now passes unnoticed" Nowadays that is when you take the tree and decs down. Times change. Back in the day, the bleak mid winter was really bleak. The twelve days of Christmas was quite a thing, when not much else could happen in a largely agrarian society. Each day had a name and a meaning and customs which might be followed. At last one involved a Roman style saturnalian role reversal - the lord became the servant and the servant the master. How much of all that stuff would be performed probably varied from area to area, just as modern xmas customs do today (bah humbug) Nowadays wassailing is all that's left of an old custom and an old way of saying cheers and perhaps also the old English equivalent of the Italian "ciao". Was hal!

crazygringo 3y ago
> Back in the day, the bleak mid winter was really bleak. The twelve days of Christmas was quite a thing This is what I've never understood. The end of December isn't bleak. And it's not mid-winter -- it's only been winter for a few days. Bleak mid-winter is the end of January, the start of February. That's when it's bad. That's when it's coldest. That's when people get depressed. In the snowy northern parts of the world, I've often wished Christmas could be then, to help with people's moods. Having it at the very start of winter feels like you're wasting all the cheer before we've gotten to the actual bleak mid-winter when you really need it!
- pacaro 3y ago
  I have always understood this to be a compromise between the longest night and the coldest days, sure in late January it is colder, but you can tell that the days are getting longer, the effect is more pronounced the farther north you are, and remember that the southernmost part of the British isles is north of the lower 48
- Tao3300 3y ago
  > Bleak mid-winter is the end of January, the start of February Perfect timing for ones willpower to sputter out and for New Year's Resolutions to be abandoned. Jan 1 is the worst possible timing to decide to embark on any positive lifestyle change.
  - crazygringo 3y ago
    Ha, I never thought of that. So true. New Year's resolutions should be made on the first day of spring -- Mar 19 this year!
    - aspenmayer 3y ago
      It also explains why socks are actually a quite nice gift, as you get them before you'll need them, which historically is the best time, considering the alternative may be to receive them not at all. In that view, a lump of coal doesn't seem half bad either! I think the focus there is on the miserly portion, not the utility of the gift (or lack thereof). Reading tradition(s) in this way really helps put fictional accounts such as A Christmas Carol and traditional celebrations themselves in a more charitable light. It's a bit late, but I wish you season's greetings and a happy new year, whenever and however you celebrate, if and when you do.
    - Tao3300 3y ago
      That's exactly my thinking. Even time to slim down a bit for summer.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
7thaccount 3y ago
Drinc hail!

cafard 3y ago

The neighborhood listserv just delivered an invitation to Twelfth Night wassailing at Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park, from 5 to 7 pm. I will not be attending since a) we have guests, b) the forecast is for cold rain, and c) my singing voice is not particularly good.

rm445 3y ago

That's nice. I try to create ceremony for Twelfth Night with my family, essentially to keep the Christmas spirit going a bit longer. We turn off the lights on the house together, sing The Twelve Days of Christmas together one more time, and take down the tree. Definitely need to add some orchard-blessing.