Wassailing the Orchards

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

Wassailing or "howling" the orchards is a tradition practiced in the cider orchards of South West England during the winter. There are many well recorded instances of the Wassail rite in the early modern period, but mostly likely orgainates from pagan practices as wassail is Anglo-Saxon [wes hal] meaning good health. The first recorded mention was at Fordwich, Kent, in 1585, by which time groups of young men would go between orchards performing the rite for a reward. The practice was sometimes referred to as “howling”. On Twelfth Night, men would go with their wassail bowl into the orchard and go about the apple trees. Slices of bread or toast were laid at the roots and sometimes tied to branches. Cider was also poured over the tree roots. The ceremony is said to "bless" the trees with renewed power to produce a good crop in the forthcoming season.

Traditional Wassail chants

!- South Hams of Devon, 1871

Here's to thee, old apple tree, Whence thou mayst bud And whence thou mayst blow! And whence thou mayst bear apples enow! Hats full! Caps full! Bushel--bushel--sacks full, And my pockets full too! Huzza!

.- Cornworthy, Devon, 1805

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.

.-19th century Sussex, Surrey

Stand fast root, bear well top Pray the God send us a howling good crop. Every twig, apples big. Every bough, apples now.

.-19th century S. Hams.

Apple-tree, apple-tree, Bear good fruit, Or down with your top And up with your root.

.-19th century Worcestershire

Bud well, bear well God send you fare well; Every sprig and every spray A bushel of apples next New Year Day.