Why do we drink a greeting or toast? Where did that tradition originate?
The Romans and Greeks would place a piece of scorched bread in a glass of wine to reduce the acidity and to improve the flavour. This custom was carried over to the Britons during the Roman presence and the first record of a “toast” was in England cira 450 AD at a feast given by British King Vortigen to his Saxon allies. It would appear as though the term “toasting” was used for the first time towards the end of the 17 th Century. Toasting” came about when the last person who sipped from the glass claimed the “toast” A Definition “A toast, literally, is orating a phrase, sentence or even entire pieces of poetry and the act of raising a glass and drinking in honour of or to the health of a person or thing or even an event” Two interpretations of the clinking of glasses are 1) The “bell” sound would chase the devil away 2) A token of “peace” related back to the days when guests would spill a bit of wine into each other’s glasses to prove that the wine was not poisoned.
