New Year's toast, an auspicious gesture that is now an inveterate tradition from one end of the planet to the other. All over the world, to greet the old year, every people has its own custom, its 'ritual' to chase away the negativity experienced during the last twelve months and to welcome the news of the coming year. Whether toasting with friends or family, the clinking of glasses is a hymn to health, wealth, happiness, a whole series of aspirations, dreams that one ardently wishes to come true. But how was the toast ritual born?
The tradition of the toast
In his history book of the XVIII century The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbons wrote about the ancient custom of toasting. Gibbons described a feast among the Huns at which their leader, Attila, conducted no less than three rounds of toasts for each course of a large dinner. The ancient Greeks drank, wishing each other health and well-being. In the'Odyssey, Ulysses drank to the health of Achilles. The best way to prove that a drink was safe to sip was to take the first sip, just as a handshake assured others that nothing was hidden up the sleeve, drinking a shared libation in front of others ensured its safety for consumption. Romans they then elaborated on this Greek custom of drinking for the health and welfare of others; they added toasted bread crumbs to their goblets, reducing the acidity of the often bitter wine.
Consequently, in English-speaking countries, the name "toast" was born, referring to the drink itself, from the Latin term "tostus" which means "to dry" or "to burn". Thus in ancient Rome, drinking for the health of another becomes a gesture that today we would define as a cult: the Senate decrees that all diners must drink at Augustus, first Roman emperor, at every meal. Fabius Maximus, Roman politician and general, declares that no man should eat or drink before he has prayed for (Maximus) and drunk to his health.
The clinking of glasses
New Year's cheers. The custom of toasting spread throughout Europe and England, where for the first time the clinking of glasses accompanied the ritual. Perhaps the goal is to mix the contents of each other's glasses in a way, reducing the likelihood of being poisoned. Or to add sounds to the experience of taste, touch, smell and sight. In the XNUMXth century, roasting became very popular. Eventually the position of “toastmasterr” who presides over events in England, offering and soliciting appropriate toasts. In this holiday season, one wonders how to use the toast on various occasions without offending with etiquette and popular traditions.
For example, there are few occasions during which a toast is not made standing up. There are many occasions to toast: weddings, family events and of course the Christmas holidays that are spent in pleasant company. The most correct way for servise the bubbles is to place all the glasses on a tray and fill them one by one in front of the guests. But you can also wait until everyone is seated and pour the sparkling wine into the glasses before starting the meal. And while the landlord meticulously prepares the bottles of bubbles to be uncorked, the guests, for good luck, can accompany the countdown by eating grapes or pomegranate grains.
