wassail

Wassail (Old Norse "ves heil", Old English was hál, literally 'be you healthy') is a beverage of hot mulled cider, traditionally drunk as an integral part of wassailing, a Medieval  German drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year. The name comes from the salute 'Waes Hail', first used as a simple greeting. The later Danish-speaking inhabitants of England seem to have turned "was hail", and the reply "drink hail", into a drinking formula adopted widely by the indigenous population of England.