A wassailing we go Jan 17, 2019

A wassailing we go

Somewhere under that dense fog, the people of Somerset county in southwest England may be marching from house to house, singing songs and dancing, and asking for a drink or snack in return. If that sounds like Christmas caroling, you’re right. But it’s the English tradition of wassailing—a practice that usually takes place on Twelfth Night, which marks the coming of the Epiphany and takes place on January 5th or 6th. So why do the people living in this farmland moor wassail on January 17? Because in Somerset, the locals observe the pre-Gregorian calendar Twelfth Night, which falls on January 17. They may even stage an ‘apple wassail’ with a trip to a local cider orchard, to sing and make noise for a good harvest in the new year.

© Guy Edwardes/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Jan 17, 2018Train crossing the Tadami River in Japan
Jan 17, 2020A seabird gets schooled
Jan 17, 2021On the Route of the Waterfalls
Jan 17, 2022Martin Luther King Day
Jan 17, 2023Muniellos Nature Reserve
Jan 17, 2024Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
Jan 17, 2025Brown pelican, San Diego, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 9, 2025Independence Day of the Argentine Republic
Sep 29, 2025The Rainbow Houses of Houten, Netherlands
Mar 1, 2019Forward-thinking women of history
Jul 9, 2023Moselle River loop near Kröv, Germany
Jul 4, 2024Independence Day
Jun 23, 2020Flowers by the sea
Apr 24, 2022Dark Sky Week
Feb 5, 2020Frozen beauty
May 1, 2026Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Feb 7, 2023Village of Labro, Italy
Aug 8, 2020It s ∞ Day!
Jul 25, 2019Jane’s Carousel delights
Jan 31, 2018Sunbeams across Tartu County, Estonia
Jun 30, 2023Brown bears in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Jan 21, 2026Squirrel Appreciation Day
Feb 5, 2021A sea of swirling stone
Sep 19, 2022State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
Mar 30, 2021Best fronds forever
Nov 9, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
Dec 28, 2025Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
Oct 5, 2025World Teachers Day
Oct 1, 2018It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
Aug 21, 2021Ambassadors of the airwaves
Apr 3, 2022Lake Tai s cherry trees in bloom
Jan 13, 2022Tasiilaq, Greenland
Dec 13, 2023Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Aug 1, 2020Where fire meets water
Feb 14, 2019Cue up the tango music
Nov 13, 2020Once upon a midafternoon dreary…