Wassail the apple tree

Introduction to ' Wassail the apple tree’

Another Twelfth Night celebration was the ritual of wassailing the apple trees. This tradition was popular in the South of England, especially in the West Country.

The purpose of wassailing is to awake the apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the autumn. The tradition faded in the early half of the 20th century, although it still survives in modernised form in about 30 villages or farms, it is now done mainly for profit.

Some do it on Twelfth Night, 5^th January, some on old Twelfth Night, 17^th January. The old way of doing it involved the young men of the village; plough hands, farm labourers etc coming together as a band and going from farm to farm to drink to the health of the leading apple tree. This was mostly done as a way to get drunk for free! In exchange for what would be either mulled cider or ale one would sing to the tree, make libations and dip toast into the wassail and arrange it in the branches of the tree to attract ‘the good spirits’ and no doubt make the robins and sparrows a bit tipsy the next day.

There were regional variations to the songs many of which can be easily found today. From the placing of the toast in the branches of the tree we derive the modern expression ‘to raise a toast’.

 Wassail the apple tree (in West Country accent)

Each year we come, without invite,

Thine apple tree, to wassail thee.

Coldest and darkest, twelfth tide night,

Give up thine cider, now for free.

Here’s health to thee, old apple-tree,

And whence thou mayest, bud and bear.

Old apple tree, we'll wassail thee,

To be merry, another year.

We raise the hallowed, wassail toast,

We hope thee wilt, have apples spare.

Next harvest, double apples boast,

And buckets of, cider to share.

The hallowed toast, in branches placed,

To invite thy, good spirits near.

We hope our brew’s, with spirit laced,

To keep us warm, this time of year.

Libations made, upon the ground,

Here’s health to thee, old apple tree.

We sing to thee, and dance around,

Good spirits we, doth welcome thee.

Contribute to, the wassail bowl,

The cider will, do us no harm.

As night goes on, without control,

We do lumber, from farm to farm.

Let every man, drink up his cup,

And so merry, let us lads be.

We have apple cider, to sup,

To make us lads tipsy, for free.

So don’t forget, the good old ways,

Set thine finest, cider aside.

So we canst our own, tankards raise,

May there be cider, next Twelfthtide.

Copyright Andrew Rea 2011