The term wassail goes back to anglo-saxon times and is a form of toast. “Waes Hael” – Be of good health. The reply to this toast is for the company to say “Drinc hael” – Drink healthily.
Wassailing in the Stroud area was practised until the 1960s, and is now gradually being revived. There is a rich collection of wassail songs from the villages around Stroud and this corner of the Cotswolds.
The songs reflect a tradition that was widespread in England but is somewhat different to the apple wassailing that has become popular in recent times.
Close to 12th Night, the wassailers would go from door to door, or around the pubs, carrying a wassail bowl and singing a wassailing song. The theme is to wish everyone a prosperous year.

With some 34 morris sides and mummers plays, rumour has it that Stroud Wassail has become the largest Wassail in the UK. We can’t verify that, but we were pretty impressed by the number of sides that came from places as diverse as Devon, Suffolk, Leicester, Birmingham and Cardiff to join in.

http://stroudwassail.com/