The Pagan Origins of Wassailing

I hope you have a wonderful Yule celebration this year! Wassail and Drinc hæl! 🍎 🍻
Don't forget to subscribe! Join me live on YouTube every Friday @ 5PM CST for Pagan Happy Hour

Want more Yule content? 🎄
Here's a list of my Yule videos to get you in the season:

---
#yule #pagan #paganism

[ScarletRavenswood]

Happy Yule everyone! For my last Yule-themed video of the year I'm discussing the fascinating pagan origins behind the tradition of Wassailing. 🍎🎄

[williampascoe]

We have a wassail every early January in the village of Dunton in Bedfordshire, England. This is always a great evening with morris dancers, mummers and a folk session in the local pub, The March Hare. The local children make noise to wake up the apple trees then hang toast soaked in cider on the trees to encourage them to produce apples for cider later in the year. Hope to see you there next year.

[jameslew]

Your videos are so important for educating the Pagan community. Most other "witchy" channels are just self-help with a touch of cottagecore aesthetic. Thank you for being authentic=)

[lindaeasley]

Wassailing began in a dark way .Crowds of people would go door to door singing, demanding food, drink with the threat of breaking in ( Yule Feast of the Norse Countries, Roman Bacchanalia)

[anglonrx]

Wassailing rituals are a pride of West England established enough to be fun but obscure enough to be safe from the Irish. People also shoot through the leaves or bash the tree with fire torches to ward off spirits and as with many other English folk traditions there is a wassail Queen who places the toast in the tree alongside Morris dancing.

[choedzin]

Thank you very much for covering the wassail traditions and the Lord of Misrule! This was once again a highly interesting video.

[penelopetaylor]

Thank you..I have a crabapple tree in my yard..we put alot of bord feeders on it..I will have to wassail and give thanks now😊

[CallofOdin]

Great vid. Yep you’ll still find wassailing going on here in the southwest of the uk. Often makes it on the regional news channels. Love the channel by the way although only found you yesterday lol.

[Coloruption]

Another brilliant video! God Jul, Scarlet!

[allisoncarpenter]

happy Yule! loved this information, Scarlet!

[說普餓人]

Can you talk about Turkish Paganism 🇹🇷 one day?

[Wodens-Wolf]

It also means I heil thee. As toast greeting.

[patriotwolf]

I love your channel. You always seem so happy. It kind of makes me think if you ever got mad I would probably hide under the house 🤣🤣🤣 thank you

[corytucker]

Good video, subscribed to the channel. Happy Yule! May the gods keep you!

[iheartredwoods]

I love your videos you research everything very well and present it amazingly thank you!

[Heidi_]

Interesting! Thanks for educating us. I enjoyed the story.

[depressedbutwelldressed]

You should make a video on how men can be pagan.

[stevebohannon]

Thank for the video. I knew the term but not the meaning or history

[Wotsitorlabart]

There are no 'pagan' origins of wassailing.
The word 'wassail' is certainly Old English (as a general salutation) but later its meaning changed somewhat and its links to a drinking toast, a drink, a party and singing all developed during the 12th - 15th centuries.
The wassail-drinkhail combination is first mentioned in c.1140 by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
The earliest record of the visiting wassail is at the St Mary of Pre' Priory in St Albans in 1461-1493.
The earliest mention of the tree wassail is from Kent in 1585.
The tree wassail was about bringing good luck and a bumper crop to the orchard (and sometimes animals and other crops) as the earliest descriptions of the tradition attest to - it was not about driving away 'evil spirits'.
None of the traditional tree wassailing songs mention 'The Apple Goddess' - this is clearly a 20th/21st century attempt to create a spurious link to a none existent pagan past.
The only reference to 'The Apple Tree Man' comes from Ruth Tongue who is described in the 'Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore' as 'problematic''.
She should be regarded as a creative singer and storyteller rather than a reliable collector of folklore. Basically she made things up.
The visiting wassail was not a riotous affair as claimed in the video but was predominantly carried out by the poorer women who went about the neighbourhood with a bowl of drink, singing or reciting verses that wished luck to their neighbours. They obviously expected money or food in return.
The tradition did not involve 'The Lord of Misrule' - that is nonesense.
The Lord of Misrule was a Medieval Christmas custom that was found in the Royal courts. And there was no unbroken link back to Roman Saturnalia - it is clear that the inspiration was from classical literature.
And whilst wassailing is demonstrably not 'pagan neither is it 'Christian either. It is a secular tradition.

[GravesRWFiA]

with an appeal to spirits of the trees i can't see how this isn't tied to pagan beliefs. There's certainly nothing in the Christian bible about tree spirits.

Alton Brown did a recipe for wassail where small apples are simmered in the beer and spices until they burst and the meally flesh is mixed into the mix.