The Apple Wassail is a traditional form of wassailing practiced in the

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

orchards of southern England during the winter. There are many well recorded instances of the Apple Wassail in the early modern period. The first recorded mention was at Fordwich, Kent, in 1585, by which time groups of young men would go between orchards performing the rite for a reward. The practice was sometimes referred to as "howling". On Twelfth Night, men would go with their wassail bowl into the orchard and go about the trees. Slices of bread or toast were laid at the roots and sometimes tied to branches. Cider was also poured over the tree roots. The ceremony is said to "bless" the trees to produce a good crop in the forthcoming season. Among the most famous wassail ceremonies are those in Whimple, Devon and

Carhampton Carhampton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, to the east of Minehead. Carhampton civil parish stretches from the Bristol Channel coast inland to Exmoor. The parish has a population of 865 (2011 census). History Iron Age occup ...

, Somerset, both on 17 January. There are also many new, commercial or "revival" wassails springing up all over the Westcountry. and further afield, such as those in

Stoke Gabriel Stoke Gabriel is a village and parish in Devon, England, situated on a creek of the River Dart. The village is a popular tourist destination in the South Hams and is famous for its mill pond and crab fishing (known colloquially as ''crabbing'') ...

and Sandford, Devon. Clevedon in north Somerset holds an annual Wassailing event in the Clevedon Community Orchard, combining the traditional elements of the festival with the entertainment and music of the Bristol

Morris Men Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

and their Horse. The Blackhand Cyder Society in the village of

Denton, Norfolk Denton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Denton is located 3.8 miles north-east of Harleston and 13 miles south of Norwich. It is a very active community as can be seen on its Website - see link in box on right. H ...

has developed its own version with a local maiden performing the blessing. A folktale from Somerset reflecting this custom tells of the

Apple Tree Man In English folklore, the Apple Tree Man is the name given to the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard,Bane, Theresa (2013). ''Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology''. McFarland & Co. p. 33. . and in whom the fertility of ...

, the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom the fertility of the orchard is thought to reside. In the tale a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard and is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried gold.Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 9–10. .Briggs, Katharine and Tongue, Ruth (1965). ''Folktales of England''. University of Chicago Press. pp. 44–47. .

Traditional Apple Wassail rhymes

Henry David Thoreau also describes the tradition in "Wild Apples."

References

External links

* * ''The Stations of the Sun'' by Ronald Hutton * ''Christmas Carols New and Old'' by

Henry Ramsden Bramley Henry Ramsden Bramley (4 June 1833 – February 1917) was an English clergyman and hymnologist perhaps best known for his collaborations with the composer Sir John Stainer.

and

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...

(London: Novello, Ewer & Co., 1871)
Apple Wassail Songs

{{Christmas English traditions Apple festivals Christmas traditions

Traditional Apple Wassail rhymes

See also

References

External links