Here We Come A-Wassailing

(As with most carols, there are several versions)

Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green;
Here we come a-wand'ring
So fair to be seen.

REFRAIN:
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail too;
And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year
And God send you a Happy New Year.

Our wassail cup is made
Of the rosemary tree,
And so is your beer
Of the best barley.

REFRAIN

We are not daily beggars
That beg from door to door;
But we are neighbours' children,
Whom you have seen before.

REFRAIN

Call up the butler of this house,
Put on his golden ring.
Let him bring us up a glass of beer,
And better we shall sing.

REFRAIN

We have got a little purse
Of stretching leather skin;
We want a little of your money
To line it well within.

REFRAIN

Bring us out a table
And spread it with a cloth;
Bring us out a mouldy cheese,
And some of your Christmas loaf.

REFRAIN

God bless the master of this house
Likewise the mistress too,
And all the little children
That round the table go

REFRAIN

Good master and good mistress,
While you're sitting by the fire,
Pray think of us poor children
Who are wandering in the mire.

REFRAIN

Here We Come A-Wassailing (or Here We Come A-Caroling) is a Christmas carol and New Years song. It refers to 'wassailing', or singing carols door to door.[1].

An old English wassail song, or song to wish good health, which is what "wassail" means.
According to Readers Digest; "the Christmas spirit often made the rich a little more generous than usual, and bands of beggars and orphans used to dance their way through the snowy streets of England, offering to sing good cheer and to tell good fortune if the householder would give them a drink from his wassail bowl or a penny or a pork pie or, let them stand for a few minutes beside the warmth of his hearth.

The wassail bowl itself was a hearty combination of hot ale or beer and spices and mead, just alcoholic enough to warm tingling toes and fingers of the singers"

info found at wikipedia

Spiced Wassail

Ingredients

* 1 quart unsweetened apple juice
* 3 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
* 2 cups cranberry juice
* 1 navel orange, sliced
* 1 medium lemon, sliced
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 3 whole cloves
* 1 (3 inch) stick cinnamon, broken

Directions

1) In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients.
2) Bring to a boil.
3) Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
4) Discard the orange and lemon slices, cloves and cinnamon before serving.