The word wassail comes from the Old Norse phrase ‘waes
hael’, literally meaning ‘be healthy’ (as in hale & hearty). It cultivates
& celebrates a sense of shared merry-making in mid-winter when it’s dark
and cold outside. In the West Country the focus of a wassail is the apple orchard, where we
gather together not only to bring cheer to ourselves but also remember the naked
trees in their dormant state – being thankful for their generous abundance over
the last year & wishing them well for the growing year ahead. It's a reciprocal ritual: a good-spirited, merry wassail
in winter ensures a good, plentiful apple harvest in autumn. Sadly, this year it’s
not possible to congregate with a revelry of friends and family in the orchard but we can keep
the flame alive with a solo or ‘bubble’ wassail in the garden or any local community space
with an apple tree…
(Picture by Annie Maudsley)
Key Ingredients: pieces of
home-made toast, some local cider in a large jug/bowl (hot & mulled or cold
& au naturelle), a crown made out ivy and/or other evergreen vegetation,
old pots & pans.
Suggested method (adapt as necessary):
1.
Choose a Wassail Queen or King (or both!) from
your bubble to lead the ceremony. E.g. throw an apple to be caught or hide a coin
in a cake. If it’s just you, then that’s easy! The Queen/King wears the crown alongside
a suitable expression of serene ceremonial grandeur…
2.
Process together en masse into the orchard/garden.
Music, dance and fire adds to the sense of occasion (otherwise hum the theme-tune
to the Archers out loud!) Make your way to the biggest/oldest/only apple tree
in the orchard or garden, known as the Apple Tree Man. Circle 3 times clockwise
in a merry, mincing manner around the tree then stand facing his trunk.
3.
Scare away the bad spirits and malignant elements
from the trees with loud noises: banging of pots & pans or howling loudly;
the louder the better (neighbours allowing). Some folk do this at the end but I
think it’s right to clear away the bad before inviting in the good spirits (or do both!).
4.
Sing to the tree. There are many wonderful wassail
songs, named after their place of origin e.g. Somerset wassail, Gower wassail,
Cornish wassail etc. I usually sing these words: “Old Apple Tree we wassail
thee and hoping thou wilt bear/ For who knows where we all shall be at apple
time this year/ For to fare well and to bear well and merry all let us be/ Let
everybody take off their hats and sing to the Old Apple Tree.” (Tune here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p05vfp66)
5.
The Wassail Queen dunks the toast in the cider bowl
(called the Loving Cup) then places pieces in the branches of the trees to feed
the birds, especially robins (symbols of Robin Goodfellow), and to bring good fortune
and fertility into the orchard for the year ahead.
6.
Liberally sprinkle the cider from the Loving Cup onto
the roots of the tree, giving a little goodness back to the source of our sustenance. Don't forget to have a hearty slurp of cider yourself whilst shouting out loud:
“Waes Hael!” The traditional reply is “Drinc Hael!” meaning 'drink healthy' (self-defining term!).
7.
Propose a toast, in words, to the Apple Tree Man,
such as this:
Apple tree, apple tree
What you have given to us, we give
back to you
Grow well roots and bear well
tops
Next year may you have a bumper apple
crop
Hatfuls and capfuls and three-bushel
bagfuls
And little heaps of apples under
the stairs
Pip pip [everyone
answers: hooray!]