Portland Cider Company’s Wassail Tradition
Wassailing has been an English tradition for centuries. Most historians can date it back to pre-Christian times. Back then, farmers would gather in the apple-growing regions of England during the cold winter months and pour hot mulled cider on the apple trees to ward off evil spirits and ensure a bountiful harvest the next year.
As Christianity began to spread throughout England, Europe, and the western world, the tradition of wassail spread too. People began incorporating more of the “wassailing” that we know and love today (like singing and drinking hot mulled cider). Also around this time is when wassailing evolved from being a cold winter tradition before apple trees began to come back to life in the spring into a tradition that was held on the 12th night of Christmas.
This tradition is tried and true throughout English history and has been passed down for centuries. You know that we love our English traditions here at Portland Cider Co., so naturally we have always been big fans of wassailing.
Traditionally, each winter around the holidays, we would throw our annual Wassail Holiday Party. All of our entertainment was in collaboration with the Portland Revels, who led our pub songs, had a live band onsite, and had their Morris dancers lead a dance lesson. The theme of our Wassail Holiday Party was always tied to the theme of the Revels’ holiday show. We would also toast to the health of the PNW apple trees, sing pub songs, dance, enjoy live music, and even release new taproom exclusive ciders.
Last year at our Holiday Wassail Party we released our English Pub cider, Imperial Santa’s Sauce cider, and Royal Blackberry cider, an imperial blackberry cider made exclusively for Portland’s Holiday Ale Festival.
We look forward to next year when we can all gather again in Portland Cider Co.’s flagship location over hot mulled cider, song, dance, and friendship once more. Until then, we’ll leave you with our Hot Mulled Cider recipe (made with our Kinda Dry cider) and a traditional Wassail song, so you can recreate your own wassailing fun at home on one of these dreary Portland winter days.
Wassail is one of our favorite holiday traditions that we can’t wait to celebrate with our community once more in coming years.
“Wassail, wassail, all over the town
Our toast it is white and our Cider it is brown
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee”
— Gloucestershire Wassail Carol
Portland Cider Company is committed to making the best cider in the Pacific Northwest - it’s in our roots! Portland Cider Co. was started in 2013 with the mission of bringing together cider rooted in the English tradition with a little Portland personality and culture. Combine those things, and you’ve got the Portland Cider Company.