Gourt Home::Gourt :: Toast (honor)
- For other uses, see Toast (disambiguation).
A toast is someone or something in honor of which people usually have a drink, or the drink or honor itself, or the act of indicating that honor. For example, a person could be the toast of the town, for whom someone proposes a toast, after which everyone toasts the honoree.
The act of toasting consists of three parts: The verbal toast, the agreement, and the symbolic drink. 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 anecdote followed by a statement of good will (for example, "Wishing both of you a marriage that lasts forever"). Everyone else present signifies agreement by lifting their drinks into the air, often accompanied by shouted or murmured sounds of agreement, either repeating the toast word ("Cheers!") or confirming the sentiment with terms such as "Hear! Hear!", and often followed by touching one's drinkware (the glass, the mug, and so on) against those of everyone else within reach. The symbolic drink is simply a matter of imbibing some of the drink to confirm the agreement; this can be a quick sip or a long draught, with no particular emphasis indicated either way.
The one instance where there is no 'agreement' element of the toast 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, which is drunk standing in total silence. The words of the toast itself ("The Immortal Memory") being said following a "Nelsonian" anecdote.
Many situations in which toasts take place involve alcoholic beverages, usually champagne for particularly special occasions, but there is no requirement that the beverages contain alcohol. 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 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 believed to be bad luck.
Examples of traditional places for toasts include the following:
- At a western-style wedding reception, the best man usually proposes a toast (that is, he toasts the couple) in the form of best wishes and congratulations to the newlyweds, after which everyone raises a glass (usually of champagne) in agreement and then sips from the glass.
- In English-speaking Christmas celebrations, drinking wassail involved giving a toast to the season and often floating a piece of toasted bread (from which the usage may derive) in the drink.
Toasts of Caucasus peoples
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 folklore art. Usually a toast speech starts from a kind of parable, with its punchline constituting the actual toast. The most successful toast is the one with the topic of the parable apparently unrelated to the occasion of the moment (celebrated by feasting), but whose conclusion most unexpectedly fits the occasion.
Below is a very short and simple, 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!
Toasts of Caucasus peoples
See also
External links
- Make a toast in 50 other languages
- Quotes for Wedding Toasts
- Famous quotes for wedding toasts
- Preparing a wedding speech
"Toast (honor)"