Yule – Susannah Ravenswing

Since the dawn of human history, our ancestors took note of the Winter Solstice, the point in the solar cycle from which the period of daylight begins to lengthen. Although now considered the first day of winter, this date was initially significant as a reminder of the increasing light and warmth to come and thus celebrated as a marker of hope.While many cultures celebrate the solstice, modern Christmas symbols and traditions have stout roots in early Germanic and Old Norse midwinter customs, and the solstice itself has come to be referred to by the name Yule, the modernized version of the Old English ġéol (pronounced zheul), which actually refers to a twelve day midwinter festival.

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The term ‘Wassail’ derives from the Old Norse blessing, Ves heil and the Anglo-Saxon greeting Wes þú hál , meaning ‘Be you hale!’ Often associated with Yuletide, this hot, mulled punch is traditionally drunk from a ‘wassail bowl’. Such wassail bowls or blessing bowls were carved of wood or made from pottery, and could be quite large so that multiple folks might drink from them simultaneously. Originally made with warmed ale or mead, a form of fermented honey wine, the pulp of roasted crab apples and beaten egg whites were added to create a fluffy cap on the hot drink referred to as ‘lambswool’. Later, the drink evolved to become a mulled cider made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, topped with slices of toast to sop up the rich, rich beverage.

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