Did you know?
This season, you might hear (or sing) the Christmas carol that begins, "Here we come a-wassailing / among the leaves so green." As is holiday tradition, you will wonder: what in the world is "a-wassailing?" In fact, wassailing is an old custom that goes back to the 1300s. The verb wassail comes from the noun wassail, which dates to the 1200s and was first used to refer to an Old English custom of hospitality. In medieval England, a courteous host would offer a cup to a guest and toast them with the salutation wæs hæil, or "be in good health." The guest would accept the cup and respond with drinc hæil, "drink in good health." Soon, wassail was also being applied to the party at which the wassail was offered, as well as the actual drink passed around. By the 1400s, it was used to refer specifically to a drink served at Christmastime. As the drink became associated with yuletide, wassailing itself changed. The meaning of the verb wassail as it shows up in the carol refers to going around, caroling, and wishing those you visit good health and holiday cheer.
Examples of wassail in a Sentence
Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2024
The French enjoy their vin chaud, the British their wassail.
—Anna Lee Iijima, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2024
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Enjoy Harvest Cider, special wassail cocktails, live music, costume contest and the Blessing of the Trees.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 14 Jan. 2024
One of the most traditional holiday drinks of them all, wintertime wassail gets a contemporary update in this flavorful drink recipe.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2023
One variation involves people traveling door-to-door singing traditional songs and spreading good wishes while carrying a bowl of wassail.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reception from 5-8 p.m. (360 K St.; see Facebook event) Anchorage Distillery — Paintings and prints by Laura Dewey with a limited special edition cocktail menu, including whiskey wassail.
—Anchorage Daily News, 4 Nov. 2021
By the era of Downton Abbey, the practice of drinking wassail had moved to Christmas and the roasted apples served only as flavoring and decoration.
—The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook, Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2020
Stephen Castle, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
This drink was often used as part of wassailing in England.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reisinger's Apple Country, located in Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake, also has a wassailing event on the horizon.
—Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2018
There was toasting and wassailing all around And cinnamon sticks in yule logs were wrapped and bound.
—Marc Bona, cleveland.com, 26 Oct. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Wassail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wassail. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wassail
1 of 2 noun
wassail
2 of 2 verbNoun
Middle English wæs hæil, washayl, "a toast to someone's health," from early Norse ves heill "be well," from heill "healthy" — related to hail entry 3, hale entry 1
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