Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a-wassailing,
So fair to be seen:
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail too,
And God bless you and send you,
A happy New Year,
And God send you,
A happy new year.
To wassail: to drink ale!
This guy here is the “among the leaves so green” part with a bowl of wassail from which you drink and yell “wassail” to your friends. This honey-based drink is served in large pewter or silver bowls. These bowls can also be known as “loving cup” and are passed around the house to all of your guests. Another way to wassail is to bless fruit trees or celebrate the harvest of apples.
The word wassail is derived from an Old English word for “be well”. In Saxon times, the lord of the manor would take the time out at the start of every new year to meet with the peasants. He shouted out “waes hael” or “be well” to his people, and they would respond “drinc hael”, which was translated to mean “drink and be healthy”.
At some point, people began going door to door to offer this greeting to their neighbors. In exchange, they were given drink and food that would normally be reserved for Christmas festivities like mince pie. This exchange was thought to give everyone good luck for the upcoming year.
The ale drink varied from region to region, but it generally consisted of hot ale, spices, sugar, roasted apples and cream.
Wassail has been known to be used to anoint apple trees in an effort to ensure a good harvest. Followed by the scaring off of demons and the raising of the Tree Spirit by shooting off shotguns and rattling pots and pans.
You may commonly see the Holly Man during the Mummer’s parade on the Twelfth Night.
Since we’re singing and raising a ruckus, let’s add sparkly things and holiday dress to the mix and wave our green and reds to all those that we meet today.
Let’s go wassailing!
Dog Collar Christmas Bandana
SewAmazin
Celtic Bracelet
SolanaKaiDesigns
Gingerbread Dog Tag Necklace
BlueMorningExpressions
Holly Bell Christmas Ornament
Kevs Krafts
Holiday Gift Tags
AdorebyNat
Antique Christmas Card
ButterflyintheAttic
Candy Cane Earrings
PrettyGonzo
Christmas Beadwoven Bracelet
KatsAllThat
Green and White Dichroic Post Earrings
Umeboshi
Jingle Bell Earrings
The Singing Beader
Green Leaf Charm Bracelet
TreasuresofJewels
Green Neckwarmer
Jazzitupwithdesignsbynancy
Hand Knit Red Cowl
CathyCreates
Christmas Holiday Bracelet
Diane’s Dangles
Red Candy Jade Bracelet
Specialtivity
Niobium Earrings
ElunaJewelry
Table Runner
RSS Designs in Fiber
Lampwork Beads
Covergirlbeads
Snowman Earrings
ShadowDogDesigns
Since we’ve already started drinking this Christmas season, let’s commence to shopping!
Enjoy all of these goodies, and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, you can find more at:
Week 1
All of our handmade designers are ready to make something for you. Just ask them!
Enjoy,
Julie and Blu
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18 comments:
Great post Julie! Thanks so much for creating this for us and including my cowl. All items pinned and tweeted :)
Nancy
This post definitely puts me in the holiday mood! Have pinned them all - wishing everyone lots of happy sales!
Very pretty combination of reds and greens! I enjoyed the story, I'm always up for a little singing and drinking. lol Thanks so much for showing my jingle bell earrings. I hope everyone gets an amazing amount of sales this Christmas season. - Connie -
Thank you so much Julie and Blu! I love all these holiday selections. I'm gettin in the spirit! Love that Holly Man too! I have pinned all the treasures to visit again later!
Hey, I'll raise a glass to this fabulous blog post! Definitely cheerful and holiday-ish (is there such a word?). Many thanks, Julie and Blu, for the post and for including my earrings. Will share with the world now.
Thank you Julie and Blu for another year of wonderful Christmas cheer and for including my cowl. Shared.
Well you learn something new every day! Wassail! What a fun and informative blog, not to mention filled with lovely goodies. Thank you for including my bracelet! Shared!
I'm sorry I missed out on this week's countdown. Love the Wassail theme and have to share a funny story...I made Wassail many years ago when enjoying my first Christmas at my first owned condo. Had lots of friends over, hanging out and a few sitting on my lovely white couch. Yes, you can imagine where this is going...I went to serve a friend some of my homemade Wassail and tripped. I spilled it all over my friend AND my white couch! This later became the story of the infamous "Wassail Toss"!
Be well everyone and Julie & Blu you selected some lovely items to showcase this week.
Lisa
Thank you for this fun blog and for including my bracelet in your post. Off to share.
I love the medieval figure of the Green Man, and I love holly, so this blog post is right up my alley! Thanks so much, Julie and beautiful Blu, for doing this extra promotion, and for including my earrings in it. Will be sharing---and wishing I had some wassail in the cupboard! :)
That Green Man is really awesome! Great theme for week 1 and thank you for including my beaded bracelet. Shared the blog and the items social sites.
Nancy's neckwarmer link isn't working but I managed to find it on her site and got it promoted.
I love this blog Julie. Thank you for including me. Now you have me singing "Here We Come A’Wassailing" Off to share....
Wonderful post, Julie!
Thank you for including my Christmas tags. Sharing it now.
Wonderful post, Julie!
Thank you for including my Christmas tags. Sharing it now.
I always enjoy the information that you share about the holiday season. That drink sounds very interesting and sweet with the honey....yummm. Thank you so much for all that you do Julie! Sharing now!
Thank you so much Julie! What a great post and I learned something :)
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