Wassail What?

So I had only planned on doing one more post for the year (a wrap-up of 2011 which is currently being written!) but I was researching someone’s question and thought the findings would make for an interesting, if unplanned post! During our Holiday Lantern Tours, while groups are brought around to the different buildings, we have some very dedicated & talented carolers stationed throughout the Village, singing 19th century Christmas Carols. One of these carols was ‘The Wassail Song’. Not a very common song anymore, but I’ll bet most of you have heard it before. If not, it’s sung in the Winona Ryder version of Little Women, a movie that always gets me in the Christmas mood!

Here the March sisters come a-wassailing... whatever that means.

During one of their breaks, one of our volunteers asked what exactly is ‘wassailing’. (On a funny side note, one of our youngest carolers changed ‘wassail’ to ‘waffle’ during a few of the caroling sessions…)

"I may not know what wassailing is but I sure like breakfast food!"

Anyway…I wasn’t exactly sure what ‘wassailing’ was. In fact, all I really knew about wassail in general was that it was a kind of cider, which I would like to point out is a noun, not a verb.

So what is wassailing? After a bit of research I was able to confirm that wassail was a warm ale or wine spiced with things like nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, etc. and was used during Christmas celebrations and toasts.

Scomps!

Wassailing, was actually a kind of blessing, and the root of the word means ‘to be in good health’. When one wassails (try saying that 5 times fast), a large group of people would go into the orchards and fields and pour the wassail over the dormant crops, in hopes of a good harvest for the new year. And while doing this, they would sing ‘The Wassail Song’!

Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green;
Here we come a-wand’ring
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.

If you want to learn more about wassail & Christmas traditions of the past, check out the sites I used while researching:

Wassailing through History: The Colonial Williamsburg Official Site

The Art of Wassail

Happy Holidays!

-Hannah

 

 

A Home for the Holidays

Here at Allaire Village the Holiday season is well under way! This past weekend we hosted our annual Christmas at Allaire events on Saturday and Sunday. The events were a huge success and everyone was in the holiday season! In addition to taking tours of the decorated buildings, visitors got to witness hearth cooking demonstrations, shop for holiday gifts, take a horse & wagon ride, and even see a program of 19th century music and dancing! Thank-you to all who visited and volunteered during this event!

The Village is lovely during all times of the year (except perhaps torrential rain) but my personal favorite time to see it is during December. All of our buildings are decorated with wreaths, mistletoe, garlands, and 19th century-decorated trees. While people of the 1830′s did not have the electric lights and fancy-schmancy ornaments that we do, they would have decorated with holly, fruit, gingerbread and wax ornaments. This year, the Allaire Mansion and General Store were bedecked with authentic decorations provided by Wolek’s Garden Service LLC of Allenwood. They did a really beautiful job and we invite you all to come out and see the buildings during this month!

The General Store

 

The Allaire Mansion

 

If you want to stop by, Allaire State Park is open most days during the week. As far as the Village goes, we are hosting Holiday Lantern Tours on Saturday, December 10th and Saturday, December 17th. The tours run from 5:00pm-8:00pm and are approximately 90 minutes each. During the tour you will take see blacksmithing demonstrations, be treated to holiday music in the Chapel, see a special holiday performance in the Allaire Mansion, shop in the Bakery & General Store, and more!

Tours leave every 15 minutes from the Visitor’s Center and end at the General Store. Tickets are $10 and advanced purchase is highly recommended! To purchase tickets please call 732-919-3500 or visit us at www.allairevillage.org/tickets.

In addition, see a special ‘Christmas Carol’ program at the Allaire Chapel on Friday, December 9th & Friday, December 16th.

Happy Holidays!

-Hannah