HistoryThe word toast is the standard English word meaning a salute to somebody or something offered prior to consuming a drink. Considering the importance placed on alcohol in Australia's history it is no surprise that toasting emerged as a popular expression of folklore.Sadly, toasting, like so many other social expressions born and bred in the pub, like singing, reciting and traditional yarn telling, has been almost annihilated by electronic entertainment and sound systems. It is hard to sing, let alone talk, in the modern hotel where television competes with video music screens, poker machines, electronic cash registers and insistent calls of “number 68 to the snack bar, please” Early Australia inherited the toasting tradition from our British and Celtic ancestors but the art of toasting has a much longer history. As early as the 6th Century B.C., the Greeks were toasting the health of their friends for a highly practical reason — to assure them that the wine they were about to share wasn't poisoned. To spike the wine with poison had become a common means of ridding oneself of pesky wives, annoying friends and political and social opponents. It's not difficult to see why sharing wine became a symbol of friendship with the host pouring wine from a common pitcher and drinking his glass before his guests. The Romans, impressed by the Greeks in general, and living in extremely Machiavellian times, adopted the custom with understandable enthusiasm. The term toast comes from the Roman practice of dipping a piece of burnt bread into the wine. Roman wine varied considerably and was often of extremely dubious quality and taste. The burnt bread was said to absorb some of the bad flavour. The charcoal reduced the acidity of soured wines making them more palatable. Over time, the Latin tostus, meaning roasted or parched, came to refer to the drink itself. By the 1700's, the custom had spread throughout Europe and especially with the upper class. Toasts were offered to a wide range of subjects and especially to beautiful women. A women who was recipient of a number of such offerings was referred to as the "toast of the town." By the 1800's, toasting was the proper thing to do and the lower and middle classes, eager to emulate the toffs, also raised their wooden and pewter mugs with toasts to their livestock, their friends and life itself. The penal settlement of Australia was controlled by a military governorship and the primitive Government House hosted many dinners where toasts were raised to the King, the head of Royal Navy, the company and the sundry guests. As the colony grew so spread the custom until, in the 1850s, toasts were raised to the wonderful discoveries of gold. TodayToday toasts are still very much a part of our lives and especially those occasions where we celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, reunions, holidays and weddings. It seems as if toasting at dinner parties, including gatherings of friends at restaurants, is accompanied by toasting. Most often it is a simple toast to all those present where everyone raises their glasses simultaneously after one person has 'raised a toast' – usually a simple “Here's Health!” or “Here's Luck!” or even “Here's to us!”. If there is a newcomer or special visitor then the toast might be directed towards their presence. Over recent years the toast has then resulted in all people at the table clinking their glasses with every other person – this is often troublesome with a large group. Recently a new version has appeared where the toaster clinks his or her glass and the table 'passes it on' so as to avoid the inevitable long arm. It is considered bad luck to not clink or, in the latter example, break the chain.Special events call for special toasting custom. At a christening luncheon, toasts are offered to the baptized child first by the Godparents, followed by the parents, the siblings and then any guests. The father of the bride with an appropriate toast formally announces engagements. Usually the father of the groom responds. At the wedding reception, at which a meal is served, toasts are offered once all of the guests have been seated and have been served their drinks. At less formal affairs, toasts should be offered after everyone has gone through the receiving line and has been served a drink. StylesThere have been some famous toasts in history. Humphrey Bogart's toast to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca of 'Here's looking at you, kid' must be somewhere at the top of that list but who could go past Groucho Marx who offered “I drink to your charm, your beauty and your brains — Which gives you a rough idea of how hard up I am for a drink.”Some Australian toasts are also simple rhymes that happen to have been used as toasts. Some are long but most are extremely short. Many capture our unique sense of humour – our so-called dry sense of humour. Some are extracts from longer poems or songs. Toasts, being a folklore expression, are passed on through oral transmission. That is, they are usually not learnt from a book but from repeated performance of friends. It is not uncommon for an individual to have his favourite and sometimes only toast that is often repeated every time that person shares a drink – ad infinitum. It could possibly be a simple “Here's mud in your eye' or even “Cheers” but the toast is always accepted in the spirit it is given. |
