Toasts are a beautiful and often moving element of many family celebrations and festive gatherings around the table. They are present in many cultures – although not every country raises them in the same way. However, a toast always requires a speaker, at least one listener, and a glass full of festive drink. What is the history of toasts, how should they be raised according to etiquette, and how do they do it in other countries?
The first toast ever raised
A toast is a literary genre, a short speech or song, intended to express good wishes or to honor someone or something during a celebration. This concept encompasses both a short phrase, e.g., "To love!", and an original, longer speech, traditionally consisting of an introduction, a reference, good wishes, and a traditional toast.
As for the history of toasts, scientists are not sure when the first glass was raised in someone's honor. As early as ancient times, raising toasts to gods was part of religious rituals – this was done through prayer and sharing food and drink. Greeks and Romans also raised goblets of wine, speaking respectfully of their ancestors and pouring some of the drink onto the ground. Other peoples, such as the Vikings, also did this, for whom a toast was both an element of a feast and belonged to the sacred sphere. Scientists have long debunked myths that a toast was once meant to avert the risk of drinking poison, because the drink would flow from glass to glass during the toast.
In Poland, toasting became an element of old Polish feasts only in the 15th century. Magnates or nobility would drink from the same goblet or from separate ones for good intentions. In the latter case, after a toast to the king or the prosperity of the homeland, the goblet would be tilted so that the alcohol flowed into a fellow diner's vessel – not out of fear of poisoning, but out of a desire to share joy and a good quality drink. The custom known today of clinking glasses, on the other hand, comes from France, where it is also still alive today.
Occasional toasts
Toasts are raised all over the world during celebrations and social gatherings. For some, a pleasant dinner with friends is enough, for others, it must be a special, rare occasion. In Poland, it depends on the traditions prevailing in a given home. Toasts can be part of a pleasant dinner with family or a date. They are almost always raised during weddings from the moment the newlyweds cross the threshold of the wedding hall, when each guest and the couple receive a full glass of drink. Later, they are repeated regularly – sometimes these are speeches by parents, witnesses, and friends, and sometimes they are limited to a simple "Cheers!" or – as the night progresses – increasingly less appropriate rhymes.
Toasts can be raised at birthdays, name days, and ordinary home parties, as well as at official receptions and galas intended for important personalities. They can be a display of oratorical skills or a short exclamation that will prompt the entire assembled group to raise a glass and drink alcohol.
Toasts in different countries
The way toasts are raised varies depending on the country. In Italy, a toast involves raising a glass to someone's health while standing, with a very delicate and quiet clinking of glasses or simply raising the hand with the vessel upwards. In China, toasts are accompanied by very long speeches. Only one rule applies – when raising a glass, it cannot be raised higher than the oldest person drinking, so as not to show disrespect! Hungarians raise toasts like Poles, but they are not allowed to clink mugs – this is very frowned upon due to tragic historical events in the country. Israelis, however, weigh their words – their toasts are very well thought out. This custom does not accompany every celebration, only the most solemn holidays. In contrast, when a Dane raises a toast, even if it lasts a good fifteen minutes, you must look the speaker in the eye. Russians raise toasts for friendship between nations or for their guests. In countries where monarchy still exists, the first toast at an official reception should be raised to the king and queen.
The masters of toasts, however, are Georgians. There, this custom is an element of literally every feast. They are raised by the so-called tamada or a person appointed by him. This is the most eloquent speaker among those gathered. During the speech, it is forbidden to interrupt, talk or make noise in any way – these are signs of disrespect. They are true displays of eloquence, and during one feast, there can be even a dozen of them! They are concluded by all those gathered drinking Georgian alcohol to the bottom of their glass.
Toast etiquette in Poland
Although in Poland occasional toasts are a kind of traditional element of all events and parties, few people know how to raise them in accordance with etiquette and savoir-vivre rules. It is precisely all these rules, which for years have constituted around this custom, that once made it a beautiful and solemn moment, and not just a pretext for quickly drinking alcohol. It is worth taking them to heart – regardless of whether it concerns wedding toasts or birthday toasts.
The first toast should be raised by the host of the party or a person designated by them. Only later, after some time, can other guests do so – if they manage to attract the attention of the listeners. It certainly should not be done by clinking cutlery against a glass! A speaker whom the audience wants to hear can begin their speech immediately after standing up and after the noise subsides, or politely ask for attention.
Toasts are best raised with wine or champagne. Especially the latter drink, which is not drunk every day, will sparkle with bubbles in tall flute glasses, adding charm to the whole situation. Vodka toasts are in very bad taste. The speaker holds their glass above the waist, so that at the end of the speech, the last element of which is the words about raising a toast, they can raise it and let others know to drink the alcohol – but only a sip or two, not the whole glass at once! Guests can gently clink their glasses. An abstainer, out of politeness, should at least moisten their lips with the same drink as others, even if they were to wipe them with a napkin immediately afterwards. The only exception are the people for whom the toast is being raised – they raise their glass, but in the end they can only say thank you, without drinking "to their own health."
Toasts are a difficult art, but when thoughtfully and wisely delivered with good intentions, they will surely bring great pleasure to the listeners and can become an elegant element of any, even a home, party!