Lmst

Lovely night to toast the trees of the #Riverside #CommunityOrchard #Stirling, in songs and tree stories! #Wassailing

Stirling Castle lit up by night, seen over the River Forth

Apple trees and sign decked in fairy lights by night

Group of singers at the Community Orchard singing to the apple trees

'Tech weary Brits revive apple tree ' #wassailing' tradition'... https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250216-tech-weary-brits-revive-apple-tree-wassailing-tradition #folklore

Off to do some #Wassailing today. I'm not dancing at this one, but will be singing (dancing at another #Wassail on the 18th though!)

Here's my post about last year's event, which I just attended as a spectator (except for the very important job of holding some apples), so it's fun to actually be taking part this year:
https://mastodon.art/@SpellsAgainstCivilisation/111709946314002156

Not quite as sunny today, but very glad that it's dry, for now!

The most famous Welsh Christmas wassailing tradition is when a troupe carries a horse skull on a pole (the "Mari Lwyd") to a house and sings a song requesting admittance. Once inside, the Mari Lwyd runs around neighing and snapping its jaws, creating havoc and scaring children.

#FolkyFriday #31DaysofHaunting #Superstitiology #Folklore #Mythology #Celtic #Wales #Christmas #Wassailing #MariLwyd

@gardening I know there are many traditions associated with Wassailing. Here it has been our custom to Wassail our small orchard on New Year's day. We do this by giving each tree a bit of toasted bread that has been dipped in apple brandy. Thereby "toasting" each tree. We then do a chorus of "Here we Come a-Wassailing" and recite some poetry. It is our way to give thanks for all the wonderful apples these trees provide us!
#Wassailing
#Orchard
#gardening
#Allotment
#NewEngland
#BeetBear

Here we come a wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a wandering
So fair to be seen. “Health to thee, good apple-tree,Well to bear, pocket-fulls, hat-fulls,
Peck-fulls, bushel-bag-fulls.”
“Here’s to thee, old apple-tree,
Whence thou may’st bud, and whence thou may’st blow,
And whence thou may’st bear apples enow
Hats full! caps full!
Bushel-bushel-sacks full,
And my pockets full, too, huzza!”
#Wassailing
#Apples
#Orchard
#gardening
#Allotment
#NewEngland
#BeetBear
@gardening

A ten inch tall (25cm), light brown teddy bear in green overalls sits looking directly at the camera. He is holding a beet in his right paw. There is a bunch of beets embroidered on the bib of his overalls.
He is sitting on top of a step ladder next to a basket of broken bread. There is a large bottle of AppleJack just below him. Next to him is an adult male in a blue overcoat holding a glass of the apple jack. Man is sort-of smiling and has a cheesy mustache and an old, dirty baseball cap. He is wearing glasses. Behind them is an old apple tree with much branching.

The twisty trunk of an old apple tree showing a large chunk of toasted bread that has been soaked with apple brandy and placed on the crotch of a branch.

For those in #EastKent searching a #wassail, there's one in #Sandwich on 4 Jan (with a #hoodening walk etc. before featuring Trudgepig): 14:00 St Crispin Inn, Worth; 15:00 Time & Tide Taproom; 16:00 Sandwich Medieval Centre. (https://www.facebook.com/events/885988743684265/)

Then another in #StNicholasAtWade on 11 Jan, 19:30 (https://www.facebook.com/events/348463171659419/)

#folklore #calendarcustom #wassailing #folktradition

Poster (with a Maylam #hoodenhorse picture in the background): text says "Hoodening & Wassail, Sat 4 Jan 2025, free events in & around Sandwich Medieval Centre. Pop-up exhibition, Hoodening Walk & Orchard Wassail by Trudgepig. 2pm St Crispin Inn, Worth; 3pm Time & Tide Taproom; 4pm Medieval Centre. Costume & masking welcome - bring a noisemaker! Wassail & cheer from 4pm - hot wassail cup, music & merriment".

Treats from the #PrideofDakota #holiday showcase, which is a little like a German #Christmas market. #Mulledwine wasn’t served but drink spices were sold.

The west coast gift recipients used the #mullingspices to go
#wassailing @ a holiday party. I prefer the spices in cranberry juice. #EnglishAmerican.

#mints, #bison #sausage, #coffee

Dot’s #pretzels, in one of the #chocolates, is now sold nationally. The business was sold to Hershey’s for $1.2 billion & has left it’s ND nest.

Photo 1: Husband wearing his Unsung Women in Somerset hoodie that he designed. Get your orders in, people!

Photo 2 is the Wassail we went to yesterday. Kids couldn't manage staying for all of it but we saw the mummers.
Wassailing is singing, shooting guns, sprinkling apple trees with cider etc to ward off evil spirits and ensure a good apple crop for the cider.

#qotd What unusual traditions does your country have?

#wassail #wassailing #cider #apples #somerset #clarksvilage #unsungWomen

My #wassailing #hat - very important to #wassail the garden. All of it, not just the fruit trees :)

#traditions #tradition #traditional #pagan #newyear #artistsgarden #imperfectgarden #gardener #artist #wolfkettler #photography #gardenwiltshire #wiltshiregarden #wiltshire #winter #naturalGarden #superstition

A brown felt hat on a wooden table. The hat is decorated with fabric ribbons and greenery.

In Apple Howling the trees are hit by the Morris Dancers sticks #wassailing which felt wrong! But someone sent me this link on #mycelial #mushrooms and it is amazing, and then inspired my #doodle #art #detail https://www.themarginalian.org/2022/11/13/mushrooms-sound-waves/

This afternoon was #wassailing #Apple #orchard event with #MorrisDancers in the park + the end of decorations #twelfthnight

Decided to go out early today to do our annual #Wassailing in my small home apple orchard. It was 19⁰F (-7⁰C) and a big snow is forecast for later so we did it while we could. #BeetBear sits in the tree holding the "toast" while some scruffy old gardener is hogging all the cider.
“Here’s to thee, old apple-tree,
Whence thou may bud, and whence thou may blow,
And whence thou may bear apples enow
Hats full! caps full!
Bushel-sacks full,
& my pockets full, too, huzza!”
#gardening
#NewEngland

A light brown teddy bear in green overalls sits looking directly at the camera. He is holding a beet in his right paw. There is a bunch of beets embroidered on the bib of his overalls. He is sitting in an apple tree holding the Wassailing toast to help with the annual Wassailing ceremony in our very small home orchard. Frozen grass below and an out of focus blue garden shed in background.

The type of wassailing still common today takes place in orchards, particularly those growing Apples or Pears. People gather in the orchards to sing and generally make noise. They might bang pots and pans or even let off shotguns. The purpose of this is twofold: firstly to wake up the trees and second to scare away any evil spirits lurking in the branches.

10 things you might not know about Wassailing:

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2024/01/5-january-wassailing.html

#Wassail #Wassailing #Traditions