Wassailing the apple trees

"Here's to thee old apple tree Whence thou mayst bud

And whence thou must blow
And whence thou bear apples anew
Hats full, Caps full ,
Bushel bushel sacks full....

And my pockets too!"


"Wassaile the trees that they may beare

many a plum and many a peare,
for more or lesse fruits they will bring
As you do give them wassailling"

"Huzza, Huzza, in our good town
The bread shall be white, and the liquor be brown
So here my old fellow I drink to thee
And the very health of each other tree.
Well may ye blow, well may ye bear
Blossom and fruit both apple and pear.
So that every bough and every twig
May bend with a burden both fair and big
May ye bear us and yield us fruit such a stors
That the bags and chambers and house run o'er."

The ancient tradition of wassailing the orchards in the West Country not only still exists but is an event with a a large amount of growing interest. More and more wassailing events are springing up through out the region with growing enthusiasm. Be this to do with the new apple orchards being planted or the increase in the amount of people drinking locally produced cider more and more people are getting back into this old custom. Cider orchards once brought a huge income to the communities in the region, one reason why this celebration might have been so important.

For some it has always been a way to link to the land, connecting with nature and what she gives us. A pagan festival that gives a strong connection and belonging to the land where we live. Its a chance to join up with the community and look forward to a healthy new year. Dating back to pre-Christianity, its a kind of fertility right with post mid-winter singing and shouting to drive the evil spirits from the apple trees. (Wassailing is a subject of many an old folk song) A night of feasting on cake and cider, choosing a wassail queen and pouring spicy cider on the roots of the trees for a good and healthy crop of apples in the following year. Everyone makes as much noise as possible and the men fire guns up into the tress to drive the spirits out! A wassail bowl might be carried to the orchard and passed around to all.

Some say that it was also practised by the Romans as a relic to Pomona, Roman goddess of fruits. There has been much written about the subject over centuries and wassailing featured in the great epic tale of Beowulf. There is one story dating from the mid 1800s which tells of such a party returning to the farmhouse to find that the awaiting hogshead of cider had been completely drained. A fair old rumpus ensued as the men tried to find the culprit when suddenly a piskie appeared and in a high voice chirruped, "I sipped once", and with that vanished.

I was joined by my parents and Oli for the Wassailing at Stoke Gabriel in Devon, not far from where we live. One of many wassailing events in the area on this old twelfth night. It absolutely poured with rain for the whole evening, but spirits were not dampened. Folk gathered to watch the Wassail King and Queen to be carried to the apple orchard on chairs decorated with ivy. The Orchard looked so magical, all the trees being decorated with lanterns. People in the procession also carried little lanterns that they had made. Once at a chosen tree we were led to chant a Wassail blessing the king and queen were lifted up into the tree and placed bread in the branches, an offering to the robins who eat the bugs! At the end of each chant rifles were fired and much noise made to scare away evil spririts from the trees. We also sang the well known 'Here we go a wassailing' song. Afterwards local singing groups sang other traditional wassaliing songs while we drank hot spicey cider. Morris dancers also did their bit followed by the traditional mummers play.
Morris dancing is a form of ritual folkdance. It is ritual as opposed to social dance, that is, it is danced with purposes beyond fun, although it also fun. These purposes are obscured by the mists of time, as is much about the Morris, but they have something to do with fertility and the rites of agrarian society. The dancers usually wear bells at their knees and often wave hankies (to attract and welcome spirits?) or clash sticks (symbolizing the eternal battle between winter and summer?), and the dances have traditionally been performed around the time of major seasonal crosspoints in the calendar. They are thought to be part of the universal urge to influence and honor the unknowable forces which govern our lives. Since Morris is a living tradition, new dances are being written all the time, to tradtional or new tunes.
The mummers plays which usually involve a hero (Saint George) and the baddie 'Turkish knight ' is about death and rebirth. There are three deaths, that of George, the Turk and the giant! Each one is brought back by the doctor and his handy bag of cures!!!

Mummers and "guisers" (performers in disguise) can be traced back at least to the Middle Ages, though when the term "mummer" appears in ancient manuscripts it is rarely clear what sort of performance was involved. A key element was visiting people in disguise at Christmas. At one time, in the royal courts, special allegorical plays were written for the mummers each year usually the speech is in rhyme.

Although usually broadly comic performances, the plays seem to be based on underlying themes of duality and and resurrection generally involve a battle between two or more characters, perhaps representing good against evil.Usually they feature a doctor who has a magic potion which is able to resuscitate a slain character.

In mummers’ plays, the central incident is the killing and restoring to life of one of the characters. The principal characters, presented in a wide variety of manner and style, are a Hero, his chief opponent, the Fool, and a quack Doctor; the defining feature of mumming plays is the Doctor, and the main purpose of the fight is to provide him with a patient to cure. The hero sometimes kills and sometimes is killed by his opponent; in either case, the doctor comes to restore the dead man to life.

Wassail comes from the Anglo Saxon 'Waes hael' which means 'Good Health!' But according to the Oxford dictionary to wassail is to 'make merry with much alcohol'!!

First impressions of Devon

Well, the winter solstice has passed and Oli and I are feeling settled in our new home! Of course we miss France but we're discovering lots to love about being here!! Except the dampness, I'd forgotten about that!!! It's warm here, but so damp at this time of year!!!
Torquay is a large town situated on the south coast of Devon. Not far from Cornwall and the beautiful Dartmoor National Park. We live a few minutes walk from the centre of the town and the harbor. Walk not too far in most directions and you are by the sea. The South west coastal path follows the cliffs all the way into Cornwall. From these undulating paths you can get fantastic views of the coast and it's hidden views. At this time of the year the paths are muddy and woodlands empty of life but reaching a little cove for your picnic is really enjoyable and works off all the Christmas mince pies!!! The trees may be leafless but in the undergrowth lush green ferns give color to the decaying woodland floor. It's easier as you walk the path to get glimpses of the sea too!
Babacombe is a little area 15 minutes walk from where we live. Follow the steep road down to the beach or follow a woodland path down. It's a great place for a twilight walk, and in summer a popular swimming spot. How ever the place is in need of a little tender care. This part of the coastline is vulnerable to many a cliff slide and part of the beach is now unusable and unsafe as the cliffs crumble away into the sea.

Since arriving here we have been exploring the countryside and enjoying the many traditional
customs that have been a part of the West Country for centuries, including Fire Barrel rolling at Ottery Saint Mary.
Young boys lift up barrels filled with tar and straw which are then set alight. They are then carried around the streets. Men carry huge barrels, with no particular direction they run hell for leather through the crowds!! You have to keep your eyes about you! The origins of this team macho rivalry
are unclear but it is said they date from pagan times. In fact the event takes place at Samhain, the pagan end of the year. Samhain is often celebrated with fire to
keep the bad spirits away. A time to remember the ancestors and pay them respect. This festival's origin is now also seen in our remembrance day.
The fires now burn to remember GUY FAWKES who tried to blow up Parliament on 5th November 1605. He was a member of a Catholic revolutionary group. The plan was to get rid of protestant rule and King James I. The plot was foiled just before the planned time, Guy Fawkes caught guarding the gunpowder.
For pagans this time of year is more about bringing light into the home and getting ready for the darkness of winter. A time for introspection and learning from the past year. Making lanterns for the home is one way to bring in warmth and to guard the home from some of the less welcome guests on Samhain night!Throughout the winter we have been out and about, mainly up on the moors. Dartmoor is a huge area of unspoilt land full of history. I LOVE it! Its a place so full of wildness and magic. No matter what time of year visited there is always a view to make you stop and wonder.
As you pass up onto the Dartmoor, which ever area you happen to be in you are not far from one of the landmark 'Tors'. You have Haytor, Hound Tor, Vixens Tor and Bowerman's nose.Each name as a legend to go with it. A legend passed on for generations. Every name has a meaning here! Legend had it that Bowerman lived about AD1100. He mischievously disturbed a coven of witches and was turned to stone! Vixen Tor is so called after Vixana. She lurked on the near by path that twisted around the bog, lurking for passing travellers. Her spells created mists which swirled around her victims until they became lost to the bogs! Apparently she was defeated by a traveller with a magic ring!!!!The tors can look ominous on the horizon, silhouetted by the low winter sun. Yet, they majestically sit on the highest points of Dartmoor like prehistoric kings that remind us of our past!!!


Talking of the past, Dartmoor is home to fossilised Bronze Age villages and medieval settlements. (one pictured above is Hound Tor and it's settlement, deserted due to changes in the climate and THE BLACK DEATH) These villages are surrounded by Bronze age field boundaries known as reaves. These low banks of stone are often many kilometers long and crisscross the moors. The stone walls that line the modern fields are often based on ancient walls and contain huge stones. There are 5000 hut circles many of neolithic origin and 75 ceremonial stone rows as well as burial mounds, chambered tombs and stone circles. These sites are often linked by old drove roads, many walkable today. Under the Saxons people has roaming rights but under Norman rule this all changed. The land was renamed forest and came under the rule of the King.

The stone circles and menhirs were of great importance to the people who lived here. Often the circles enclosed a cairn or burial mound. The stone rows often lead up to a cairn. Some of these seem to have been more important than others. We have only found on so far but I'm sure we shall soon discover other hidden secrets further from the road!
Nowadays, the sites are often used by Druid and pagan groups who meet up in these magical places to celebrate the festivals of the turning year! I hope to join them for my first celebration back in England this Imbolc! (Imbolc is the first of the spring festivals, the last one being the winter solstice)
Before then, we are going to be off 'wassailing' the cider apple orchards....another very old and traditional West Country custom......more on this soon and 'Waes Hael' to all! xx