Wassailing the trees

  I love trees, and was truly enamored at the thought of  singing (and drinking) to their health. The word 'Wassail' is derived from the Old Norse 'Ves heill', from whence came the Old English salutation 'Wes Hal', meaning 'Be thou hale'. As it stems from Anglo/Saxon, it is thought to predate the Norman Conquest. 

  Although it is a rather riotous celebration, it's taken quite seriously by those who depend on a good harvest for their livelihood. Especially in the English counties of Devon, Somerset, Dorset Goucestershire, and Herefordshire.

Reciting poems and singing to the trees was meant to promote their health and insure a good harvest for the coming year.





The chanting of incantations, banging on drums and pots and pans and even firing a volley into the branches was meant to drive away evil spirits.

             

 The wassail King and Queen lead the procession from one orchard to the next. Periodically, the wassail Queen will be lifted up into the boughs of the tree where she will place a piece of toast soaked in Wassail from the Clayen Cup (an earthenware vessel filled with cider) as a gift                                                                     to the tree spirits.  

I've always associated Wassailing with caroling during the Christmas season. The wassailing of trees, however, was celebrated on Twelfth Night (January 6, or the evening of January 5) or to be strictly correct on "Old Twelvey Night" (January 17) the true date before the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.


 This year, why not extend your holiday festivities, and come January honor the trees that give us shelter and shade, bear fruit to be savored, and clean the air we breathe.

                    HAPPY WASSAILING 
                                
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                 celebrate Christmas in the Crimea in1851        
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       Disowned by her father and still mourning the death of her fiancé, Josephine Posey joins Florence Nightingale’s brigade of nurses bound for the Black Sea. Thousands of British soldiers desperately await these angels of mercy and a new life awaits Josie. Amidst the chaos of death and despair, she finds a spark of hope, lighting the flame once more inside her soul.

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