Wassail under the Millennium bridge (Twelfth Night at Bankside, London)

As 21st century citizens we don’t tend to get up to much wassailing. TIme was when everyone looked forward to a a good wassail on Twelfth Night. Now Twelfth Night itself is only noted as the date to take down Christmas decorations. In earlier times though it marked the end of the winter festivals that had lasted since Halloween. Great festivities ensued,

Luckily there are still some hardy souls who take Wassailing seriously – the Lions Part have been celebrating Twelfth night near Shakespeare’s Globe for twenty years. They perform a Mummer’s play, crown a King Bean and Queen Pea, dance and eat mince pies. A taste of the action can be seen in the video above.