Apple Tree Wassail, 2023

Following our jolly gathering in January 2022 to wassail the Lane’s Prince Albert apple tree in the garden, we met on 10 January to repeat the ceremony. The custom was especially important during a time when part of a labourer’s wages was paid in apple cider. Landlords needed a good apple crop to attract good workers. Wassailing was meant to keep the tree safe from evil spirits until the next year’s apples appeared.

It is being brought back into many communities as more apple orchards appear and there is increasing respect for the natural world.
This year we had a roaring fire going in the chiminea and everyone wore a hat decorated with greenery. We gathered round the tree and made a loud cacophony with pots and pans to frighten away the bad spirits with Ellie banging a wooden hammer on the metal wheelbarrow! This done, we chanted the Dorset wassail ‘Oh Old Apple Tree We Wassail Thee….’ ending by shouting ‘Wassail!’ a corruption the Old English for good health. The chant was to awaken the good spirits of the tree from winter slumber to produce a good crop this year.

Our wooden wassail bowl was filled with fermenting apple juice. We each took a piece of toast, dipped it in the juice and placed it in the tree as an offering. The rest of the juice was poured around the tree roots to feed it.

After the wassailing we had a jolly bring and share lunch pepped up with Elaine’s special spiced apple cider. Nessa led a toast to a more peaceful and less controversial world for 2023 and Mary followed it by a toast to continued good times locally. Next year we plan to include the Fig Tree as it has been reluctant to produce ripe fruit.

More detail about the custom of wassailing can be found on our news item of 10 Jan 2022 and more about our old apple tree is reported in our news item of 24 January 2022.