An ancient tradition, wassailing involved singing door-to-door and offering a drink from the wassailing bowl - an ornate bowl filled with warm beer, sugar, fruits and flavoured with spice.
The word wassail originates from the Anglo-Saxon ‘waes-hael’, meaning ‘be in good health'. With people reliant on the land for good health, prosperity, and a bountiful harvest, wishes of good health would be offered for both the crops and the community as the wassail bowl was passed around for people to take a turn and drink from it.