Seeley Swan Pathfinder -

Traditionally, the New Year is welcomed in by raising a glass of champagne and offering a toast. Toast? Lightly burned bread?

In the Middle Ages people sometimes did put a piece of toasted bread into their wine or other drink. But why did they do that? And how did it turn into the modern custom of saying a few words before drinking at special occasions, no bread involved?

Toasting as a way of preserving bread originated in pre-historic times. Laying a slab of bread on a hot stone next to a fire was the earliest method of extending its palatability. Pouring or splashing wine, or some like b...