Posted on 01/08/2017 3:45:36 PM PST by Bigg Red
Apple Howling or 'wassailing' is an ancient custom in which the 'evil' spirits are driven out and the 'good' spirits are encouraged to produce a good apple crop for the following year's cider.
The Chanctonbury Ring Morris Men revived this tradition in the area over 45 years ago and it has become an essential part of Christmas for many people, especially families with young children, who seem to welcome the opportunity to make as much noise as possible! The ceremony was traditionally held on the eve of Twelfth Night, old Christmas Day, but we have settled on the first Saturday in January as a regular date for our event.
The venue is Old Mill Farm, Bolney, RH17 5SE [Map] and we are grateful to Glyn Stevens, the owner, for making us welcome, as always.
The proceedings begin in the farmyard at 6pm with a torchlight procession down the lane to the orchard, where the wassailers encircle one of the oldest trees. The Master of the Ceremony begins the proceedings by leading an invocation, encouraging the tree to produce a bumper crop in the coming season. A spiced and cider-soaked wassail cake is placed in a fork of the tree and cider is poured over the roots to promote good growth. After some more words of encouragement for the tree, the Master of the Ceremony calls for beaters to thrash the trunk of the tree with sticks. This is one of the parts of the event that particularly appeals to the younger members - the harder they hit, the greater the stimulation! This is followed by a wassail song and a number of dances by the Chanctonbury Ring Morris Men.
The high point of the ceremony now takes place with the ‘general hullabaloo’. This begins with a shotgun being fired into the air, at which point, everyone makes as much noise as possible. Bring your own ‘instruments’ - dustbin lids, old saucepans and football rattles - let your imagination be your guide! The hullabaloo ends with another gunshot - we used to use a whistle, but once the racket got going, no-one could hear it!
The evening concludes back "There are no catering or toilet facilities at the farmyard with spiced wassail cakes and English cider. As in previous years, we are hoping to be able to sample some more of that wonderful cider from Old Mill Farm, where the ceremony is held. A collection is taken to offset our costs, and so that everyone may associate themselves with the occasion and its undoubted benefits!
~snip~
(The section that I snipped is just a list of bits of information for someone who plans to attend, e.g., "There are no catering or toilet facilities...." --Bigg Red)
~snip~ (This paragraph appeared at the bottom of the page. --Bigg Red) A new book called “Wassailing” - Reawakening an Ancient Folk Custom has recently been published, which features our ceremony and its history, among many others. It is detailed yet a very enjoyable and informative read and we can thoroughly recommend it. Click on the image of it to the right and you will open a direct link to their website for more detail and ordering information. (I have posted the link below. This book is the 6th item down the page. --Bigg Red)
http://hedinghamfair.co.uk/hedingham_fair_books.htm
Living as a modern in this technologically sophisticated age, I often think of our premodern ancestors and how they spent the long winter. Yes, it was cold but there were no crops to be sewn or harvested and there was meat on the hoof to be enjoyed. It was a time for taking stock and to be grateful ... and what better way to be grateful than to enjoy the fruits of one’s labors.
Well said.
look up cincturing. age old practice
Very well played!
Many years ago I heard a strange fact related that stayed with me as conversational fodder. It may have been Paul Harvey or The Farmer’s Almanac or some similar source but the story teller told of an old New England tradition where, in early spring, couples would run around an apple tree a certain number of times in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, I forget which, and while doing so slap the tree trunk with switches or perhaps rolled up newspapers. The participants also had to be buck naked while doing so.
What struck me was the specificity of the act. How much experimentation had to be performed over the years to determine the exact number of rotations and strikes to the tree, let alone determining that being naked somehow added to the efficacy of the process. Better still, what did Farmer John tell his neighbor who happened upon him and his female partner practicing this research, and, how did Farmer John convince his neighbors that this was something that the whole village should commence to do together to insure a better apple crop ?
It certainly sounds like apple howling, although the naked bits add a little something extra.
“Better still, what did Farmer John tell his neighbor...”
Farmer John was probably chasing Farmer Bob’s wife around the tree.
“Oh - hey now Bob - put down that musket. We’re just doing the apple dance - you want a good crop next year don’t you!? I know you’re new here, so I’ll explain it to you....”
We have a little prissy dog, that is until she goes on a mole hunt. lol Then it’s get that dirty stinking girl in the tub for a bath.
I believe it is called *Wassailing*
http://projectbritain.com/Xmas/wassail.htm
Not at all sure about the *nekkid* part.:)
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/Christmas/hist_wassail.cfm
Sounds like the origins of the *pub-crawl* and...
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/wassailing.htm
...cross-dressing and blackface.
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/wassailing.shtml
Thanks for the information. I always learn so much from FReepers.
LOL! Sounds like these practices have roots - no pun intended - in pre-Christian fertility rites. I am betting the apple howling does, as well.
Nekkid outside in the New England spring. Brrrr!
I’m compelled to point out that “auxin” is a compound created in a plant’s roots and transported up into the plant, and is the thing that stimulates new growth at the growing tips of the branches/limbs.
Auxin is alto present in fast growing annuals like cannabis, but I would not know anything about that.
Go for a change! Move to the Pacific Northwest and grow Kelp! Lots of auxin and on a good day, 2 to 3 feet of growth. The barbeque is good and all, but there are disadvantages to living some place that keeps all its rivers underground to keep them from evaporating!
Kelp. Good fertilizer for other plants! Or, roll it up with raw fish and rice and sell it in California!
Pete, when I grow plants, kelp makes an awesome adjunct to my soil. I love it.
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