9/30/05 Making A Toast

[Minis On The Edge]

Anyone who has ever drunk a toast to a friend's health or good fortune may have wondered how the word "toast" came to designate a ceremony the involves no roasted slice of bread. :lol:

Where did this custom stem from and what is the story behind this ritual that is still done today?

Thinking caps on

[AllThingsMini]

It started with the ancient Greeks who had an interesting habit of spiking the punch with poison. Offering a toast was deemed a gesture of good faith. The term toasting comes from the Roman practice of putting a piece of burnt bread into the goblet to mellow the flavor of the wine. In Olde England, a piece of toast bread was put into the bottom of the glass, and you drank until you got to it.

A number of theories exist about clinking glasses with a toast. One theory, possibly stemming from that Greek habit, is that by clinking glasses, you could slosh the poison someone may have put into your wine back into theirs. Another theory is that the sound of clinking glasses was thought to drive the evil spirits out of the spirits, making it safe to drink. Clinking could also be a way to make contact since we no longer all drink from the same bowl.

[Minis On The Edge]

That's right Marie!! You go girl!

Any other findings?? I will post more on this subject later on.

[MiniMadWoman]

At our wedding, my husband's best man toasted us by bringing in a REAL piece of burnt toast! He got a lot of laughs!! :lol: However, we didn't put it in our glasses to mellow the flavour of our wine!! I needed all the strength I could get!!