Visit Ryton Gardens Wassail Ceremony
Sunday 20th January 2013
The Morris dancers will be on site from 11am and will perform in the orchard at approximately 1.30pm
Apple wassailing has long been an important event in the calendar because it was believed to help ensure a good harvest in the coming year.
In apple growing regions across the UK, where cider was once a form of currency, the annual custom of waking the trees and scaring away evil spirits is a tradition which is steeped in history and dates back hundreds of years.
The custom is named after the Old English expression ‘waes hael’, meaning ‘be in good health’
In medieval Britain some farmers performed wassailing ceremonies to call for the fertility of their soil and their livestock and this practice can be traced into the sixteenth century when records show farmers in cider regions of the country were performing wassails in their orchards.
The apple wassail signified the first ‘business meeting’ of the new year and called for a good harvest. This was particularly important when farm labourers were paid in cider as apples were a very valuable crop.
Dating back to pre-Christian times, it is celebrated either on Twelfth Night or the previous day �“ sometimes known as Old Christmas Eve �“ or more traditionally on January 17 which is known as Old Twelfth Night since that is when it would have fallen in the pre-Gregorian calendar.
The ceremony is seen as heralding the end to chaos and a return to normality after the wild days of midwinter when the otherworldly hordes were said to cross over into human realms.
There are many different variations of the apple wassailing ceremony but one traditional format begins with a procession led by the wassail king and queen during which the wassail bowl is carried to the orchard.
According to some traditions the wassail queen will be lifted up into the largest tree in the orchard to place cider-soaked pieces of toast in the forks of the branches as an offering to the tree spirits.
People then gather round the apple trees with pots and pans, kettles and whistles and make as much noise as possible to wake the sleeping tree spirit.
The remainder of the wassail drink is generally poured over the roots of the tree or ceremoniously drunk by the participants and a wassailing song is performed to call for a good harvest.
Hundreds of years after the first bowl of wassail was ever drunk the tradition is still going strong
Today wassailing is a significant feature of the calendar as a way to help preserve rural traditions as well as recognising the importance of orchards as an attractive amenity and a haven for wildlife.
