Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Here We Come A’Wassailing

Here we come a-wassailing
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.

The Holly Man
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
Christmas Golden Reindeer Over-the-Collar Pet Bandana, Small or XSmall
Celtic Bracelet
SolanaKaiDesigns 
Silver Celtic Bracelet, Celtic Knot Bracelet, Celtic Green Bracelet, Adjustable Length Bracelet, Handmade Sterling Bracelet,
Gingerbread Dog Tag Necklace
BlueMorningExpressions 
Christmas Gingerbread Necklace,  Handmade Necklace, Artisan Jewelry, Fashion Jewelry, Designer Necklace
Holly Bell Christmas Ornament
Kevs Krafts
Holly Bell Shaped Christmas Ornament Handmade From Cherry Wood
Holiday Gift Tags
AdorebyNat
Christmas Tags - Set of 12
Antique Christmas Card
ButterflyintheAttic
Antique Postcard Christmas Poinsettia and Santa Clause - Digital Hand Designed Art - Scrapbooking, Card Making & Crafts - PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD
Candy Cane Earrings
PrettyGonzo
Candy Cane Christmas Earrings with Green Crystal, Red Coral Cluster, Sterling, Handmade
Christmas Beadwoven Bracelet
KatsAllThat
Red Green and Gold Holiday Beadwoven Superduo Cuff Handmade Bracelet
Green and White Dichroic Post Earrings
Umeboshi
Green and White Handmade Dichroic Glass Post Earrings-Sterling Silver
Jingle Bell Earrings
The Singing Beader
Charming Red Jingle Bell Wirewrapped Earrings Surgical Steel Ball post
Green Leaf Charm Bracelet
TreasuresofJewels
Victorian Beaded Bracelet,Pearl Bracelet,Patina Jewelry,Edwardian Jewelry, Fall Jewelry
Green Neckwarmer
Jazzitupwithdesignsbynancy

Neck Warmer Green Hand Knit Shield Pattern Dark Sage Caron Simply Soft
Hand Knit Red Cowl
CathyCreates

Christmas Holiday Bracelet
Diane’s Dangles

Red Candy Jade Bracelet
Specialtivity
Red Candy Jade Swarovski Crystal Pewter Charms Christmas Bracelet
Niobium Earrings
ElunaJewelry
Tiny Green Niobium Hoop Earrings, Green Backward Hoop Earrings
Table Runner
RSS Designs in Fiber

Lampwork Beads
Covergirlbeads

Soul Journey Encased Glass Lampwork Bead Pair Green Dots Silver - Click Image to Close
Snowman Earrings
ShadowDogDesigns 
Handmade Christmas snowmen earrings created with Swarovski pearls and crystals


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


18 comments:

  1. Great post Julie! Thanks so much for creating this for us and including my cowl. All items pinned and tweeted :)

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  2. This post definitely puts me in the holiday mood! Have pinned them all - wishing everyone lots of happy sales!

    ReplyDelete
  3. 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 -

    ReplyDelete
  4. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  5. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you Julie and Blu for another year of wonderful Christmas cheer and for including my cowl. Shared.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  8. 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

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for this fun blog and for including my bracelet in your post. Off to share.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 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! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nancy's neckwarmer link isn't working but I managed to find it on her site and got it promoted.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love this blog Julie. Thank you for including me. Now you have me singing "Here We Come A’Wassailing" Off to share....

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful post, Julie!
    Thank you for including my Christmas tags. Sharing it now.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful post, Julie!
    Thank you for including my Christmas tags. Sharing it now.

    ReplyDelete
  16. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you so much Julie! What a great post and I learned something :)

    ReplyDelete