In 18 pictures: Hastings Museum and Art Gallery hosts wassail and Morris dancing

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery held its first ever Wassail on Saturday (December 21).

The venue hosted the RX Morris dancing group in the Durbar Hall, due to wet weather, which meant it was too wet for the group to dance outside, as had been planned.

After the dancing, a Mummers’ play was performed outside the museum, as well as the wassailing itself, held at the apple tree in the museum garden.

Wassail is a hot drink and a traditional winter celebration that involves singing, dancing, and drinking. The celebration traditionally took place on Twelfth Night. Nowadays, wassails are hosted between late December and February.

The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Old Norse phrase ves heill, which means ‘be in good health’ or ‘be fortunate’.

Mummers’ plays are a type of play which was historically performed by local men at specific times of the year such as Boxing Day, Easter, or Halloween.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the plays were performed on the street, in pubs, and in people’s homes, in return for money, food and drink.

They are traditionally performed by troupes of amateur actors and are based loosely on the legend of St George and the dragon, intending to show the struggle between good and evil.

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