Twelfth Night Wassail

Wassail is an English tradition that dates to at least the Middle Ages. The custom celebrates the apple harvest and helps ensure a good crop for the next year. The word “wassail” comes from the Old English wæs hæil, which means “be in good health.” The wassail tradition exists in two forms. In the Victorian era, a tradition similar to caroling arose where the wassailers went door to door. The older tradition of Wassailing involves going to the orchard and raising a vessel of mulled ale to celebrate the apple trees and ask for a good harvest.
 
The custom of wassailing involved a group of people going from orchard to orchard, singing and chanting traditional songs, and toasting to the health of the apple trees. The ceremony was usually held on Twelfth Night, January 5th.* The wassail bowl, a large wooden bowl filled with hot spiced cider, was passed around for everyone to drink from.
 
Some of the early surviving recipes for making the wassail drink mention floating pieces of bread atop of the liquid. Indeed, this may very probably be the origin of our modern usage of the word “toast” to refer to raising a glass in honor of a person or occasion.
 
In addition to the singing and toasting, wassailers would also make noise to scare away evil spirits that might harm the apple trees. They would bang pots and pans together, fire guns, and light torches.
 
The wassail tradition has evolved over time, but it is still celebrated in apple-growing regions of Britain. Today, wassailers still go from orchard to orchard, singing and toasting to the health of the trees. Above is a wassail group in New Yorkshire photographed in 2015.

Of course, New Orleans has its own traditions. Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Carnival. The Krewe de Joanne d’Arc meanders its way through the Vieux Carré (New Orleans French Quarter) on the evening of January 6th. Traditionally, king cakes are not to be consumed prior to Epiphany, and the Joan of Arc parade includes a crowning of the king cake ceremony.

*In old ways of reckoning time, the day ended with sundown, so we find many references denoting the evening of January 5th as Twelfth Night and January 6th as Twelfth day. We see this also in the timing of Jewish holy days where they begin at sundown of the day before and end at sunset.