At Sandford orchards, they had a fantastic Wassail at their Cider Works, which is perfectly encapsulated in this video below… sound on recommended!
These are the listings that I have been sent from other cider heads, if you know of any others – please add to the comments below. Thank you.
Heres how to get it right! Tips for a successful wassail
We had a great visit to Middle Farm in the middle of January, where we went a Wassailing!
A Wassail is a winter celebration, traditionally held on Old Twelfth Night, to ensure that the orchard is fruitful in the coming months. It was a fantastic clear crisp night, perfect for blessing the fruit trees.
There was of course a great selection of best selling and local ciders and perries. A great programme of indoor and outdoor events, including a Celidh, bonfire, and lots and lots of drumming organised by the Hunter’s Moon Morris men.
Check out a selection of the photos we took of the evening:
Watch a video of the the Wassail group heading to the orchards to light the ceremonial bonfire:
On a winter’s evening in January, usually Old Christmas Eve (January 5), Twelfth night (January 6) or Old Twelfth night (January 17), about 200 townsfolk gather to play witness to a wassail ceremony, which resembles something out of a medieval Shakespearean play from what I’ve seen on the Internet.
“Wassail ceremony is a wonderful assault on winter dulled senses”, explains Norman Stanier, Vice-Chairman of The Big Apple and owner of Dragon Orchard. “It has noise, music, drums, procession, torchlight, fires, cider, roasted pig, songs, acting, and loud noises often of shotguns being fired.”
A wassail King and Queen lead a torch-held procession in song, from orchard to orchard. The wassail was important in the past when part of a labourer’s wage on a farm was paid in cider. Today, farmers who are motivated by superstition and tradition carry on the pagan ceremony.
All gathered around the tree before the fires are lit
After much dancing and singing, noise making and merriment, the evening culminates in gunshots to scare the evil spirits away, and the wassailers head back to the local pub for dancing, cider, and entertainment.
Here’s our pick of the UK’s best Wassail events in 2011:
All will usually provide hot food and drink available and a well stocked cider bar.
Wassailing is an old custom that takes place on Old Twelfth Night (17 January) or thereabouts, to exhort apple trees to fruit well the following season.
Customs and songs differ from place to place. At many events cider is poured onto the roots and shots fired through the branches to ward off evil spirits. Warm cider is drunk and toast soaked in cider is placed in the branches for the robin. Wassail songs are sung. More information on Wassailing at Wikipedia.
We’d love to add more, do you know of any? Let us know and we’ll add it to these listings.
Wassailing is so ancient that putting a date on when it began has been lost in time.
Wassailing however has given birth to other customs such as carol singing, and wishing others good health when drinking.
The main purpose of wassailing is to perform a ceremony to protect the trees from evil and to make them bear a plentiful fruit crop in the coming year. The event involves lots of cider, singing, dancing and celebrating trees in orchards on the 12th night.
How to wassail your apple trees
The assembled company surround a tree and toasted bread, soaked in cider, is placed in the branches of the tree (supposedly for the robins). Cider is then poured into the roots of the tree.
Everyone sings to the tree:
Old apple tree we wassail thee and hoping thou wilt bear
For the Lord doth know where we may be ‘til apples another year
For to bloom well and to bear well so merry let us be
Let everyone take up their cup and drink to the old apple tree
Then everyone calls out to the tree:
Old apple tree we wassail thee and hoping thou wilt bear
Hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls and a little heap under the stairs
Hip hi hooray!
Then a great noise is made, customarily with shotguns being fired through the branches of the tree. The wassail ceremony is very simple and short but feel free to add your own variations.
There’s a great seasonal recipe for making Mulled Cider recipe ideal for your wassail here.
More information on what happens at a Cider Wassail on the Daily Telegraph site, and at the National Association of Cider Makers.
Visit our events page for Cider events near you.
