Christmas C – Epiphany Carol-Singer booklet

Christmas

Twelfth Night wassailing

Several centuries would pass before the Church separated the celebration of the birth of Christ from celebrations to mark the start of the new year. At one time the date of Christ’s birth even coincided with the first day of the year. Numerous customs and traditions that have changed over the course of history show a series of similar features and contents. Carol-singing or wassailing was a widespread custom. Costumed groups would go from house to house and from place to place singing songs and exchanging greetings as they wished people a happy and healthy new year. These costumed groups represented the biblical Magi, otherwise known as the Three Kings. As well as Twelfth Night or Epiphany wassailers there were New Year’s wassailers. There was, of course, also an important social element to the custom, since the gifts of food given to the wassailers, who were often individuals from poorer families, helped them to survive the harshest weeks and months of winter.

Janez Bogataj