Got an apple tree? Get outside and start wassailing for a good harvest

Tonight, 17th January, is Old Twelfth Night in the Julian Calendar and traditionally this was the night when wassailing ceremonies took place to honour apples trees and ensure a good harvest in the autumn.

In 1920, one such ceremony, that took place in Bratton, SW England, on 17 January each year, is described thus:

"Meeting at about seven in the evening the wassailers proceed to the orchard which is to be the scene of their first celebration, and, forming a ring around one of the oldest trees, dance around singing a particular song.... Cider, sometimes warmed, is then thrown upon the tree or poured over the roots to the accompaniment of much shouting, stamping of feet, and firing of guns. Before leaving the tree a piece of toast soaked in cider is placed in the fork of the branches."

This custom is still popular in the South West of England and in the Border country where many of the different songs that you can sing hail from.

Here's a short one to try in the back garden:

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!

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