What is wassailing the apple trees?
What is wassailing the apple trees?
Wassailing was meant to keep the tree safe from spirits until the next year’s apples appeared. Those who celebrate on old Twelfth Night drink the cider produced during the past year and offer toasts to a bountiful new year.
What is an orchard wassail?
The Apple Wassail is a traditional form of wassailing practiced in the cider orchards of southern England during the winter. 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.
What happens at a wassail?
Wassailing is an annual tradition which involves blessing orchards to ensure a good harvest for the year to come. The celebrations involve music, song, dancing and a recognition of what orchards give to us.
How do you make wassail?
What generally happens is that pieces of toast soaked in cider are placed around the oldest or finest tree in the orchard, cider is poured round the base then shot guns are fired into the upper branches, buckets are beaten and a general cacophony of noise made to scare away evil spirits and wake the sleeping trees.
Why is it called wassail?
The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase ‘waes hael’, which means ‘good health’. The Wassail drink mixture was sometimes called ‘Lamb’s Wool’, because of the pulp of the roasted apples looked all frothy and a bit like Lambs Wool! Here is a recipe for wassail.
How do you wassail?
Depending upon the area of the country where you lived, the wassail drink itself would generally consist of a warmed ale, wine or cider, blended with spices, honey and perhaps an egg or two, all served in one huge bowl and passed from one person to the next with the traditional “wassail” greeting.
Is wassailing a pagan?
Wassailing is a Twelfth Night tradition that has been practised in Britain for centuries. It has its roots in a pagan custom of visiting orchards to sing to the trees and spirits in the hope of ensuring a good harvest the following season.
How old is wassailing?
The earliest accounts of wassailing fruit trees come from the East of England—in St Albans in 1486 and Kent in 1585. But it isn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that the wassail truly comes to prominence.
Is wassail a pagan?
Who invented wassail?
One legend about how Wassailing was created, says that a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him with the words ‘waes hael’. Over the centuries, a great deal of ceremony developed around the custom of drinking wassail.
Where was wassailing the cider orchard in Somerset?
Photograph: Bill Bradshaw On a foggy January night a group of cider aficionados gathered in an orchard in Somerset. These weren’t fair-weather fans (although most of the snow had melted it was still flipping freezing), these were people who wanted to be sure that this year’s harvest is the best ever.
What does the wassail Queen do in the cider orchard?
A wassail queen (or king) leads a parade to a tree, often the oldest in the orchard. When she gets there, she dips a piece of toast in some mulled cider which is lifted and placed in the boughs of the tree to attract favourable spirits.
Where do the wassailers go in the winter?
There are some dedicated wassailers here in Ontario and each winter, while our apple trees are still dormant, these wassailers go from orchard to orchard spreading good luck and good cheer.
Where does the custom of wassailing come from?
The custom of wassailing dates back to pagan times but has enjoyed a minor resurgence in recent years as cider has regained popularity among drinkers. Cidermakers have something to celebrate at last – and with the heritage of their product one of its selling points, holding a wassail makes perfect sense.