Toast (honor)
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- For other uses, see Toast (disambiguation).
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[edit] A Toast
- A toast is someone or something in honor of which people usually have a drink, the drink or honor itself, or the act of indicating that honor. For example, a person could be "the toast of the evening", for whom someone "proposes a toast" to congratulate and for whom a third person "toasts" in agreement.
- The toast as described here rooted in Western culture, but certain cultures outside that sphere have their own traditions in which consuming a drink is connected with ideas of celebration and honor.
- The description that follows explains the process of the toast in detail, including toasts that are of the more formal variety. However, merely raising one's glass towards someone or something and then drinking in essentially a toast as well, the message being one of good will towards the person or thing indicated.
[edit] Components of Toasting
The act of toasting consists of three parts: The verbal toast, the agreement, and imbibing a drink.
[edit] Verbalization
- In the verbal part, one person states a reason for the toast. This can be as simple as "cheers!" or "here's to good friends" or as complex as an conveying an anecdote followed by a statement of good will such as "wishing both of you a marriage that lasts forever".
[edit] Agreement
- People joining in the toast signify their agreement by lifting their drinks into the air, often accompanied by shouted or murmured sounds of agreement, either repeating the toast word (i.e. "cheers!") or confirming the sentiment with terms such as "Hear! Hear!", and often followed by touching one's drinkware against those of everyone else within reach.
- The principle part of this agreement, that of raising glasses, actually precedes the verbal element in many cases. This is the case when someone announces "raise your glass for a toast" and people do so. The personal contributing the verbal element may then wait until everyone is in position before making a statement.
- One instance which specifically precludes a verbal agreement element is in the case of the "Immortal Memory" toast, traditionally drunk on Trafalgar Day at the Royal Navy dinner aboard the HMS Victory to the memory of Admiral Lord Nelson. This toast is made standing in total silence. The words of the toast itself, "The Immortal Memory", are said following a "Nelsonian" anecdote.
- Other "silent toasts" may be solemnly made without verbal agreement or touching glasses. This is appropriate for honoring a recently-departed friend or a fallen hero.
[edit] Imbibing
- Imbibing a drink "seals" the toast. This can be a quick sip or a long drought, with no particular emphasis indicated either way in most cultures. However, in some cases (such as toasting with small glasses of vodka in Russia or certain Scandinavian countries) there is an expectation that one drains one's glass.
- Placing one's glass down without drinking or holding one's glass without drinking while becoming distracted by some other activity is impolite. If a person does this willfully, it demonstrates that they do not agree with the toast for some reason (i.e. it was inappropriately ribald or advocated a political cause with which the person strongly disagrees). This negates the agreement previously indicted by the having one's glass raised.
[edit] Beverage choice
- Toasting traditionally involves alcoholic beverages. Champagne (or at least some variety of sparkling wine) is regarded as especially festive and is widely associated with New Year's Eve and situations of a sudden, congratulatory nature (such as learning that one has gained a lucrative business contract).
- There is no requirement that beverages contain alcohol, but it isn't uncommon for a person who is not drinking alcohol on a given occasion (but who is not a teetotaler either) to take just a sip of an alcoholic beverage in honor of the toast in preference to a soft drink.
- Often, drinks are mixed among participants, such as when some people drink sparkling cider instead of champagne.
- It is a tradition in the United States Navy that a toast is never be made with water, this being said to indicate that the person so honored will be doomed to a watery grave. Toasting with water in general is regarded as bad luck by some and as insufficiently festive by others.
[edit] Situations
Examples of traditional places for toasts include the following:
- At a wedding reception, the best man usually proposes a toast in the form of best wishes and congratulations to the newlyweds.
- In Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom and closely connected cultures, drinking wassail involves giving a toast to the season and often floating a piece of toasted bread in one's cup (the term "toast" may come from this practice). The wassail toast is almost unknown in the United States.
[edit] Canada and the United States
The following guidelines apply specifically to toasting in Canada and the United States:
- Most people will lightly touch glasses when giving a toast, often saying "toast", "cheers" or a short phrase such as "to us". Toasting without touching glasses is increasingly popular and is regarded by some as a slightly more sophisticated mode of behavior.
- Except during formal occasions such as a wedding or an anniversary party for which a function hall has been rented, it is not very common to "propose a toast" in the more formal sense. However, when someone does make such an gesture, it is almost invariably met with approval regardless of the setting or the occasion.
- If someone wants to "propose a toast as well", this second toast should have a different focus than the first, such as acknowledging the impending college graduation of person in the room when the first toast congratulated someone regarding their birthday. Ideally, this toast is briefer than the first so as not upstage it. Subsequent toasts, if any, should even more succinct (i.e. "..and to Bill's new house").
- Americans and Canadians typically toast only once per gathering, if at all. Even lifting one's glass and saying "cheers" each time a new drink is poured isn't in line with local etiquette and, while not impolite, may be seen as a bit tedious.
[edit] The Caucasus
Among the peoples of Caucasus, Georgians in particular, toasts are a matter of elaborate traditions and rituals, with toasting speeches being an important type of the folk tradition. Usually a toast speech starts with a kind of parable or metaphor and concludes with a punchline constituting the actual toast. The most artful toast is one in which the topic of the parable is apparently unrelated to the occasion of the moment but whose conclusion most unexpectedly fits the occasion. This is a short but typical example:
"A bird spotted a glittering necklace in the King's treasury and stole it away. Happy, it flew very high, higher than the highest mountains. Suddenly a gust of wind tore the necklace's string, and the precious gems scattered all over the world... It is a great luck that one of them landed by our table today. Cheers to Maria!"
