Cheers: Wassail–Great Hot Drink for Cold Nights
Our church goes in for Epiphany in a big way, emphasizing how Christmas only begins on Dec. 25 and runs through January 6. Last weekend we held our “Epiphany Dinners” in homes as a way of having small fellowships with people NOT in our small groups or house churches, and totally mixed up by organizers who pair people who want to host, with people who want to be “guests.” Everyone makes a dish and viola, a lovely dinner in a private home is enjoyed by all who wish to participate!
We hosted this year and I prepared a Wassail to enjoy as folks gathered, which turned out to be perfect on a frigid January evening. Now that I’m finally un-decorating the house, I think I’ll stir up another batch to enjoy.
In a nod to those who don’t want a long story before they get to the recipe (you know who you are), here goes.
Wassail
Note: I halved this recipe to serve approximately eight.
1 gallon apple cider
1 cup brown sugar
1 – 6 oz can frozen lemonade concentrate (or use lemonade Koolaid, with juice of a whole lemon added)
1 6 oz can frozen orange juice
1 Tablespoon whole cloves
1 Tablespoon whole allspice (can put whole spices in steaming bag or just throw in whole)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Cinnamon sticks
Lemon or orange slices
Simmer 20 minutes.
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Any Epiphany celebrations to share?
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How do you cheer yourself up for the dismal, disheartening, depressing work of un-decorating??
findingharmonyblog 
Actually, I haven’t undecorated, yet. I just finished writing a post about that very topic; I plan to post in a day or two. The wassail looks delicious! 🙂
I will look forward to your post! I was thinking about how we have always had some customs around undecorating too–like hiding one particular ornament in the living room for next year. That was fun too.
Thank you! I like that idea of hiding an ornament for next year. Sounds fun. 🙂
Have not had this receipe before but will file it for another occassion when it would be appropriate It looks delicious
I hadn’t made this particular recipe before either but everyone seemed to love it. Blessings, Caro=Claire!
Cliff’s birthday is on the 9th (think: upside-down 6), so we had a party last weekend at our house featuring artist/musicians in his Sunday School class. We also invited two neighbors who came – the next morning one of them wanted to go to church with us. We like when that happens.
You are right: Taking down decorations, especially the Christmas tree, is not nearly as much fun as putting one up. Your post today helps sweep away the gloom. And the recipe? I like any warm drink with apple cider, oranges juice, and lemon slices. The tea cup beside my computer is begging to be filled with hot tea now. My sister has a kumquat tree, and so I slice a kumquat in half for the taste.
Great post, Melodie.
So you have a sister where you live, how nice! And with kumquats–I used to enjoy those too in Fla.
One of my friends was talking about January birthdays and how, you are not even done with Christmas, when you need to start thinking ahead to “oh what to do for so and so’s birthday.” She has two daughters who had birthdays this week, not twins. But she wasn’t really complaining. Two of my sibs had birthdays the day after Christmas, and that sister has a daughter who was also born on Dec. 26. Actually it is nice in January when the parties and celebrations keep on rolling. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post and hope you got your tea–or something.
We do not have much undecorating to do ..as we don’t do much decorating. We never have more than a small tabletop tree. We put up outside lights now on the house and husband’s shop to mainly make the winter nights seem cheerier and they stay on until March We are in the country so adds light to dreary nights. Over the years have collected a good number of holiday mugs so I use those for the season. They’ll go back into the basement soon. I also have received many holiday themed hand and kitchen towels over the years…They also will be put away. I have a couple random candles here and there. We have a small, very old, hand carved creche.
I like the idea of cheery lights for dark winter nights. There is something to be said for keeping the decorating uncluttered and simple–a theme I hear from you often. Thanks for adding your touch!