Guide to Wassailing on Allotment sites.
This can also apply to community spaces, urban orchards and the
like.
The winter solstice and the shortest day have gone, Christmas has
been celebrated, the New Year has been seen in, now it is January
and the deepest midwinter so how about the gathering to get people
out of their houses and celebrate the forthcoming spring and new
growth. Get people to come together and socialise and celebrate.
Trees
Traditional Wassail normally blesses one tree in an orchard,
Allotments there are opportunities for the blessing of several apple
trees on different plots with a different poem being read out
Timing
Traditional wassails occur at night - however, Allotment sites in
places can be difficult to walk around, so it may be prudent to hold
it during daylight, so people can see where they are walking.
Ritual
It isnt a indepth guide to Wassail Ritual, there is plenty of
other websites.
There are a good number of Wassail poems that you can copy from
resources on the Internet put them onto a document and print them
out for attendees.
Bring toast for the branches, Salt for purification and some old
cider for the roots.
One element of wassailing apple trees is to make a lot of noise ( to
wake sleeping spirits ) so ask people to bring musical instruments,
pots, pans and any other noise-making instruments. It’s a tradition
in the countryside to use shotguns to make noise however in urban
areas this may not be advisable due to the rapid response by the
boys and girls in blue; so some party poppers ( Christmas leftovers
) can be used to good effect and decoration.
Get participants put the toast in the branches (to give birds
something to sustain them in winter time).
Throw Salt over tree to purify.
Pour some cider over the roots to return some juice back to
the tree.
Read a poem and at the end make noise to wake the sleeping spirits
and shout Wassail.
Ending Event
You may want to think about how to close the event. In our
Allotments site, we have a small bonfire and provide jacket
potatoes, beans and cheese on a first come first serve basis, then
retire to a local house. Other Allotments sites have some Morris
dancers or musicians come and play and then people to retire to a
local community hall. Other places to retire to can be a local
public house. You may consider children’s activities. It is
really up to you to see what resources and what people want to do.
Health and Safety
Is it just for plot holders? Or plus invited guests or it may be a
public event, thus you need to check your site insurance to see what
it covers. It is wise to walk around the site before the event to
check the route for any hazards. Let attendees know any hazzards,
keep to the paths and not to walk over plots, also if there
are facilities like the toilet on the site and the location of the
first-aid kit.
Weather
It is winter time and you cannot always rely upon decent weather so
you may wish to have a backup plan for people to still be able to
meet and socialise. Some sites may have an allotment clubhouse
otherwise they may wish to consider another venue in the locality
Version 2 Jan 2024