January 17
Wassailing
This was the proper time for Wassailing in the apple growing regions of southern and western England. Large parties gathered in the orchards by night to sing to the trees, drink to their health, and our cider over their roots. Pieces of toast were soaked in cider and then placed on the branches of the trees for the guardian birds. Near midnight horns were blown and guns fired, and everyone would give a great howl to frighten off any angry or evil spirits that might blight the crop.
“Old apple tree, we wassail thee, and hoping thou wilt bear,
For the Lord doth know, where we shall be,
till apples come another year.
To bear well, to bloom well, so merry let us be,
Let every man take off his hat and
shout to the old apple tree.
Old apple tree, we wassail thee, and hoping thou wilt bear,
Hats full, cups full, three-bushes bags full,
And a little heap under the stairs.”
—Charles Kightly,
Pererpetual Almanack of Folklore
Witches Of The Craft® 