Wassail and Hail to God’s Creation | Tom Cain

January 1 was the New Year’s Day with the ancient Romas as it is with us, and they used to give on another presents. One emperor made a rule that no one could demand a present except on this day—a provision which the children took full advantage of.

In England, New Years’ was a time of merry-making of feasting. In castle and cottage, family and friends gathered around a bowl of ale spiced with cloves, nutmeg and ginger, all piping hot, from which he drank their healths, and then each in turn drank from the bowl as it was passed around.

Waes Hail! They said, these being the Anglo Saxon words for “May you be in good health!” So the bowl came to known as the Wassail, and the general jollification, going around and asking for favors, was called ‘wassailing.’ Sometimes the poor folk decorated a bowl with ribbons and took it round from door to door begging for a coin or two to put in it, so that they might enjoy the good things of life as well.

Children in particular were fond of this old custom, and they used to sing:
”We are not daily beggars that beg from door to door. We’re your neighbors children who you have seen before. Bring us out a table and spread it with a cloth, bring us cheese and your fine Christmas bread.”

Soul, soul a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake, an apple, pear, plum or cherry, anything to make us all merry, one for Peter, two for Paul, three for him who made us all. The streets are very dirty, my shoes are very thin. I have a little pocket to put a penny in. If you haven’t got a penny, a half-penny will do. If you haven’t got a half penny, then God bless you.

When it comes to God’s creation, we are all poor, all dependent. This world with rivers and lakes and sky and oceans feed us, sustain us. The poor around us are our neighbors. The Savior was explicit about the need to care and share. So, pass around the care for the land, the air, the water.

Wassail! Hail to God’s creation.