About Drinking Toasts

The wedding toast, the New Year's toast... they're all familiar parts of our culture today.
But how did the idea of toasting begin, and why is it such an important tradition?
But giving a drinking toast can also be a nerve-wracking moment.

History

Some of the earliest toasts can be traced to ancient Greece. In a time when poison was a murder weapon of choice, the toast was designed to put guests at ease by pouring all drinks from the same communal container, and clinking glasses to spill the contents from one glass to another. This would assure everyone that the wine wasn't poisoned, and that they were among friends.
Toasts even had their place in early literature, when Ulysses lifted a glass in honor of Achilles in Odyssey.
Another early inventor of the toast was the Vikings, when, during gatherings and celebrations, they would raise a drink to the warriors and friends they had lost. The Mongols had a similar tradition.
The Norse had a particularly morbid custom of using the skull of a fallen enemy for the drinking glass, which has led to a term for a modern-day toast: skoal.
It's thought that there was another reason for the clinking of glasses, one that became popular among Christians. The clinking noise was supposed to be reminiscent of bells, and therefore would drive away the devil.
While the act was around long before, it became known as a "toast" in the 17th century.

Significance

The toast has long been a custom to partake in when among friends, and when celebrating a special occasion. The occasion can range from a wedding or an engagement to the closing of a special business deal, and is often no more than recognizing the occasion of gathering with old friends.
Not all occasions need to be happy ones, however. Toasts are often given in honor of friends and loved ones who have passed away, fallen soldiers or those missing in action. The toast is seen as a way to bring together those gathered, to share in the group's feelings, and to show support from everyone.
To not partake in a toast is often a social misstep, indicating disagreement with the toast and dislike of the subject.

Features

There are three components to most toasts. The first is the verbal part of it, where the person giving the toast proclaims what the toast is in honor of. This can also be a generic sort of toast, as in the following:
Ale's a strong wrestler,
Flings all it hath met;
And makes the ground slippery,
Though it not be wet.

The second part of the toast is when those participating show their agreement. This is often by raising their glasses, and clinking the glasses against those of others. It can also include a verbal response to the toast-giver.
The third part is the drink. It's considered a social misstep not to drink after someone gives a toast. The way the drink is consumed varies by culture and by drink. For example, in Russia, where toasts are often given with small glasses of vodka, it's common practice to drain the glass completely before setting it down. Similar traditions exist in Japan and China. In most cultures, however, there is no difference between taking a sip of a drink or finishing the whole thing in one go.

Misconceptions

Toasting wasn't always the simple raising of the glass that it is today.
Toasting has also seen some morbid variants, not the least of which is the old Scandinavian custom of using skulls as drinking glasses.
The modern bachelor party has its roots in toasting and drinking. Male friends of a recently engaged man would meet at a determined location, and would race to the future bride's house. There, the winner would be rewarded with a bottle of alcohol, which would be shared among the friends in what would later become the bachelor party.
Around the mid-1600s, there was a strange custom that dictated that in order to truly show their desire for the woman they loved, men needed to stab themselves in the arm, drain blood into their wine, then drink that mixture when they proposed a toast to the woman of their affections.
Later, there was a period in Europe when the more nauseating the concoction that was consumed, the more the drinker believed in the cause.
English Jacobites used toasting as a way to secretly pay homage to their exiled king. Passing the glass over a bowl of water before taking a drink was a nod to the king across the water.
There were many times and places that toasts--and the vices of drinking that invariably followed--were outlawed. Louis XIV of France was one of many monarchs who forbid a toast to be given in the royal residence.

Types

In the United Kingdom, the wassail toast is a traditional Christmas toast. The drink is often a hot, spiced cider or punch (earlier beer or mead). Toast would be placed on the top of the drink. This custom was the precursor to Christmas caroling. While the well-off celebrants could afford their own wassail, the poorer, common folk went door-to-door with an empty bowl that they hoped would be filled by those partaking in the good will and charity of the season. As an offering, they would often sing carols to those who filled their bowls.
There are also silent toasts. These are often given in honor of a fallen military comrade or recently departed loved one.