Singing at fruit trees may seem like an unusual activity on a cold winter’s day but it’s part of a very old tradition called wassailing. The wassailing, or blessing of the fruit trees, involves drinking and singing to the health of the trees in the hope that they will provide a bountiful harvest the following year.
We love the idea of wassailing as we were first inspired to brew our Heritage Jasmine Bellini after wandering round English orchards full of peaches, pears, and plums. The Wassailing celebrations generally take place on the Twelfth Night, 5th January, however traditionalists still insist on celebrating it on ‘Old Twelvey’, or the 17th January. This is what would have been the date before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1752. In Anglo-Saxon times, the lord of the manor would greet the assembled multitude with the toast waes hael, meaning “be well” or “be in good health”, to which his followers would reply drink hael, or “drink well”, and so the New Year celebrations would start. This ancient custom is still practised across the country today.
Different Types of Wassailing
There are two distinct variations of wassailing. The first involves groups of merrymakers going from one house to another, wassail bowl in hand, singing traditional songs and generally spreading fun and good wishes. The second form of wassailing tends to be practiced in the countryside, particularly in fruit growing regions, where it is the trees that are blessed. It is particularly popular in the cider-producing areas of England, such as Somerset, Devon, Herefordshire, Kent and Sussex.
The wassailing, or blessing of the fruit trees, involves drinking and singing to the health of the trees in the hope that they will provide a bumper harvest the following autumn. The celebrations vary from region to region, but generally involve a wassail King and Queen leading the assembled group of revellers, comprising farmers, farm workers and villagers, in a noisy procession from one orchard to the next. In each orchard the wassailers gather round the biggest and best tree. As a gift to the tree spirits, the Queen places a piece of toast into the tree’s branches, accompanied by songs. The toast is to entice robins who are believed to be the orchard’s guardians. Traditionally, the wassailers then move on to the next orchard; singing, shouting, banging pots and pans, and generally making as much noise as possible to both waken the sleeping tree spirits, and to frighten off any bad
spirits that may be lurking in the branches.
Not Just Fruit Trees
However, wassailing isn’t just about fruit trees. Other ancient wassailing traditions are practiced each year in London, where the Bankside Mummers and the Holly Man will ‘bring in the green’ and waes hael the people and the River Thames.
Join us and together let’s wassail with a celebratory Heritage Jasmine Bellini!