Wassail Collection

The wassail bowl
Locals gather round to drink hot mulled cider out of the wassail bowl. Artists: Alan Wright & Vernon Stokes Date: circa 1910

Jester carrying a wassail bowl
A jester in red and blue costume, carrying a wassail bowl and enjoying the aroma coming from it. Wassail was a medieval drink, a kind of punch made from hot mulled cider

Wassailing apple trees with hot cider in Devonshire on twelfth eve, 1861. A print from The Illustrated London News, (12 January 1861)

Wassail, c. 1650
Wassail. A man gleefully fills a large wine jug with wine from a barrel. c.1650 Date: C.1650

Carhampton Apple Tree
APPLE TREE CUSTOM Trees are toasted with mulled cider while singing a wassail song; cider-soaked toast is left for robins, and guns are fired to frighten evil spirits

The Wassail Bowl - drawn by John Gilbert, 1860. Creator: Smyth
all! welcome all! The feast is spread in the vaulted hall...The gen'rous wassail-bowl With kindness warms the soul. We quaff it to friends, we quaff it to foes

The Twelfth-Night Wassail-Bowl, 1856. Creator: Sir John Gilbert
The Twelfth-Night Wassail-Bowl, 1856. 17th century scene: peasants visiting the lord and lady of the manor at Christmas....the bowl was filled with spiced wine

Wassail Bowl on New Years Eve
A tradition on New Years Eve where people in the village go door-to-door, singing and offering a drink from the bowl full of hot mulled wine, a mix of cider

Carol singing wassail cup wassailing wassailers
Carol, singing, wassail, cup, wassailing, wassailers, carolers, caroling, Singers, group, performing, outside, country, pub, watercolour, painting, by, Charles, Howard, 12023356

A Childs Dream of Christmas, 1858 (pencil)
Ma88130 A Childs Dream of Christmas, 1858 (pencil) by Halswelle, Keeley (1832-91); Private Collection; Photo © The Ms Gallery, London

Wassailing the Apple Trees, 1840 (litho)
NAT133860 Wassailing the Apple Trees, 1840 (litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: success of the cider apple crop; ); English, out of copyright

The Eve before the Battle. Riot and Wassail of the Saxons
LLM456991 The Eve before the Battle. Riot and Wassail of the Saxons by Maclise, Daniel (1806-70) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Eve before the Battle. Riot and Wassail of the Saxons)

Christmas card, Old King Cole
Christmas card by Robert Dudley, Old King Cole (with two geese and a turkey as his musicians). (3 of 5) Date: circa 1890s

Christmas verses 1877
Victorian traditions, decorating the Christmas tree, couple under the mistletoe, wassail and Amen, written by Julia Goddard. Date: 1877

Christmas verse 1846
Page of Victorian men and women getting into the Christmas spirit! Indulging themselves in food, drink and song, and in the centre Old Father Christmas type with holly wreath upon his head, drinking

Bringing in Christmas
Pagan Christmas, with people enjoying the festive spirit with some hot mulled cider or two!

Old Father Christmas with the Yule Log
Christmas with the Yule Log. " What, Father Christmas! Here again? With yule log on your back, and mighty store of racy things well stuffed within your pack

Tudor Wassailing (engraving)
NAT133857 Tudor Wassailing (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: success of the cider apple crop; ); English, out of copyright

Wassailing the Apple-tree (engraving)
2781262 Wassailing the Apple-tree (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Wassailing the Apple-tree. Illustration for Chatterbox (1899).); © Look and Learn

A carol for a wassail bowl
LLM454835 A carol for a wassail bowl by Foster, Myles Birket (1825-99); Private Collection; (add.info.: A carol for a wassail bowl)

Christmas supplement front cover for 1875
Christmas front cover supplement for The Illustrated London News, 1875. Showing a group of musicians being greeted at the door with a big bowl of wassail. Date: 1875

WASSAIL BOWL / CHRISTMAS
Gloucestershire Wassail bowl, ornamented with laurel, mistletoe & ribbons. The large bowl was made from the wood of apple trees. Date: 1846

WASSAIL-BOWL, 12TH NIGHT
Poor old man and musical friends beg WASSAIL-BOWL from Lord of the Manor Date: 17th Century

The Wassail Bowl, 1860. Artist: Sir John Gilbert
The Wassail Bowl, 1860. From The Illustrated London News (22 December 1860)

Bringing in the wassail bowl, 1874. Artist: Henry Stacy Marks
Bringing in the wassail bowl, 1874. A print from The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 19th December 1874

Origin of the Wassail bowl, a Medieval Christmas English drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year

An Elizabethan Frost Fair
Christmas-tide on the Ice: An Elizabethan Thames Fair. high Wassail on the frozen Thames. Roasting an ox on the ice by old London Bridge during the Great Frost of 1565 (in a 1934 illustration)

DECEMBER was called Aerra Geola, because the sun then turns his
DECEMBER was called " Aerra Geola, " because the sun then " turns his glorious course; " and after the introduction of Christianity, " Heilig-monath, " or holy-month

A Court Jester raising the punch cup high! The illustration for the Contents page of the Phil May Folio. Date: 1892

Wassail [Buss]
Wassailers at the door of a manor house are offered the wassail bowl by the lady of the house

The Wassail Bowl, Ancient
A dwarf stirs the punchbowl at a lively Christmas party, while other guests amuse themselves with snapdragon, a jester jests, musicians play, and the host presides as Father Xmas

Wassailing at the Manor
Poor old man and musical friends beg WASSAIL-BOWL from Lord of the Manor

Wassail [Foster]
Carol singers, having done their stuff, are rewarded with the wassail bowl

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"Wassail: A Timeless Tradition of Festive Merriment" The wassail bowl, brimming with warm spiced cider, symbolizes the essence of joviality and celebration. Dating back centuries, this vessel has been passed from hand to hand, spreading cheer and good fortune. Intriguingly, a jester carrying a wassail bowl can be found in historical depictions. This mischievous figure adds an element of playful revelry to the festivities. One such scene captures the enchanting tradition of Wassailing Apple Trees in Devonshire on twelfth eve in 1861. Locals gather around ancient orchards, raising their cups high as they sing carols and toast to bountiful harvests. Delving further into history reveals a fascinating glimpse into the past. A depiction from c. 1650 showcases the elaborate nature of wassailing ceremonies during that era - a true spectacle for all involved. The Carhampton Apple Tree stands tall amidst folklore surrounding wassail traditions. Its branches have witnessed countless New Year's Eves where friends and family come together, sharing stories while passing around the cherished wassail bowl. Wandering through time brings us to "A Child's Dream of Christmas" in 1858 - a pencil sketch capturing innocent imaginations filled with visions of merrymaking and laughter overflows at every turn. 1840 presents us with another lithograph titled "Wassailing the Apple Trees. " Here we witness communities united under starlit skies; their voices harmonizing as they honor nature's gifts through song and libations poured from the revered wassail bowl. Even amid tumultuous times like depicted in "The Eve before Battle, " Saxons find solace in riotous celebrations accompanied by copious amounts of wassail. It serves as a reminder that even during strife, joy can still be found within communal bonds forged over shared traditions.