Brace yourself for the very real possibility of that Christmas trick or treating becoming a thing, because it has been a thing in the past. When social media influencers looking for content cross paths with the folk-trad folks--and it is bound to happen--we'll be in the grips of the next 'what's old is new again' moment and adding wassailing, Victorian style, to our to-do list. Wassailing has had multiple incarnations--but at one point it involved going door-to-door, singing and demanding drink (wassail punch/mulled cider) and/or food (ye olde 'figgy pudding') from the householders upon whose doorstep the motley crowd has converged. A piece from a Peter, Paul, & Mary song captured the list of potential demands--drink, food, money...
"Go down into the cellar, and see what you can find
If the barrels are not empty
We hope you will be kind
We hope you will be kind
With your apple and strawberry
For we'll come no more a 'soalin this time next year
Soal, a soal, a soal cake, please, good missus, a soul cake
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry, any good thing 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 ha' penny will do
If you haven't got a ha' penny, then God bless you"
I felt this. I always love doing tons of Christmassy stuff (as much as is reasonable with toddlers) and I usually take and share a good amount of photos, because I don’t do physical photo albums and I want the memories for myself. I think my lgeneration worries about preserving things because everything is capture-able and archive-able and shouldn’t we want to remember every dang detail? And maybe if we don’t take the photo or share it no one will remember it!! Even though we grew up fine with mostly just our brains and a few candid film photos to remember stuff by. And then I think, maybe I should get a film camera. But then I’d have to find space for the photos I’d printed and I really can’t start another hobby right now… what a world.
Anyway, this year I haven’t been keeping up as well as I’m used to with putting photos somewhere. The last month of our life has been disrupted by bedbugs and it’s all I can do to just simply enjoy the festive things that we’re able to pull off. 2024 is going to seem like a weird blank Christmas on my social media đŸ˜‚
Love this piece!
Brace yourself for the very real possibility of that Christmas trick or treating becoming a thing, because it has been a thing in the past. When social media influencers looking for content cross paths with the folk-trad folks--and it is bound to happen--we'll be in the grips of the next 'what's old is new again' moment and adding wassailing, Victorian style, to our to-do list. Wassailing has had multiple incarnations--but at one point it involved going door-to-door, singing and demanding drink (wassail punch/mulled cider) and/or food (ye olde 'figgy pudding') from the householders upon whose doorstep the motley crowd has converged. A piece from a Peter, Paul, & Mary song captured the list of potential demands--drink, food, money...
"Go down into the cellar, and see what you can find
If the barrels are not empty
We hope you will be kind
We hope you will be kind
With your apple and strawberry
For we'll come no more a 'soalin this time next year
Soal, a soal, a soal cake, please, good missus, a soul cake
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry, any good thing 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 ha' penny will do
If you haven't got a ha' penny, then God bless you"
I felt this. I always love doing tons of Christmassy stuff (as much as is reasonable with toddlers) and I usually take and share a good amount of photos, because I don’t do physical photo albums and I want the memories for myself. I think my lgeneration worries about preserving things because everything is capture-able and archive-able and shouldn’t we want to remember every dang detail? And maybe if we don’t take the photo or share it no one will remember it!! Even though we grew up fine with mostly just our brains and a few candid film photos to remember stuff by. And then I think, maybe I should get a film camera. But then I’d have to find space for the photos I’d printed and I really can’t start another hobby right now… what a world.
Anyway, this year I haven’t been keeping up as well as I’m used to with putting photos somewhere. The last month of our life has been disrupted by bedbugs and it’s all I can do to just simply enjoy the festive things that we’re able to pull off. 2024 is going to seem like a weird blank Christmas on my social media đŸ˜‚
Really looking forward to the new venture for you and your cowriters!!