National Hot Mulled Cider Day 🍎

Overview

National Hot Mulled Cider Day, observed annually on September 30th, celebrates the comforting and aromatic beverage that signals the start of autumn. This day encourages people to enjoy warm apple cider infused with a blend of seasonal spices like cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and orange peel, often sweetened and served as a cozy treat.

Origin and story

The practice of 'mulling' involves heating a beverage and infusing it with spices, a tradition that dates back centuries.

Mulled cider has historical connections to wassailing, an ancient English custom of visiting apple orchards in winter to sing and drink to the health of the trees.

Quick facts

• DateSeptember 30
• TypeCultural / community observance
• Great forFriends, Families, Classrooms, Teams

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Ways to celebrate

Mulled cider's spiced-and-warmed formula comes from wassail, a medieval English drink that was as much ritual as refreshment.

Trace it to "waes hael"

"Wassail" comes from the Anglo-Saxon toast "waes hael," meaning "good health" — the earliest description of a modern-style warmed, spiced drink appears in an English cookery book from 1390, built from mulled ale, roasted apples, and spices like clove and nutmeg.

Know the two kinds of wassailing

House-visiting wassail involved going door to door on Twelfth Night singing for a cup from the communal bowl, while orchard-visiting wassail meant singing to apple trees themselves, a ritual meant to wake the trees and scare off evil spirits ahead of a good harvest.

Read the fuller history

Helpful resources:

• New York's Cideries Bring the Tradition of Wassailing to the Finger Lakes (Smithsonian Magazine)

Did you know?

The wassail mixture was sometimes nicknamed "Lamb's Wool" because the frothy pulp of roasted apples floating on top resembled a sheep's fleece.

Fun facts

• The practice of 'mulling' involves heating a beverage and infusing it with spices, a tradition that dates back centuries.
• Mulled cider has historical connections to wassailing, an ancient English custom of visiting apple orchards in winter to sing and drink to the health of the trees.
• While modern mulled cider is typically non-alcoholic, historically, 'cider' in many regions referred to an alcoholic fermented apple beverage, with the non-alcoholic version often called 'sweet cider' or 'apple juice'.

Sources and attribution

New York's Cideries Bring the Tradition of Wassailing to the Finger Lakes (Smithsonian Magazine)

External links may lead to third-party websites.

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FAQ

When is National Hot Mulled Cider Day?

It is observed on September 30 each year.

What is National Hot Mulled Cider Day?

National Hot Mulled Cider Day, observed annually on September 30th, celebrates the comforting and aromatic beverage that signals the start of autumn. This day encourages people to enjoy warm apple cider infused with a blend of seasonal spices like cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and orange peel, often sweetened and served as a cozy treat.

How do people celebrate National Hot Mulled Cider Day?

Warm up a batch of spiced cider and consider its roots in medieval wassail, an English drink whose name comes from the Anglo-Saxon toast 'waes hael,' meaning 'good health.'

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