393: How to Wassail & Drink Hail
Let everyone drink up their cup a to the old Apple Tree hello my name is real Windcaller and I am the producer and cider MC of this weekly podcast where we speak with makers cider enthusiasts and folks within the CER trade from around the [Applause] World let everyone drink up their cup and health to the old Apple Tree a little fun Diddy we heard coming into this year episode 393 of cider chat welcome if you’re a new listener and hello to all my good friends out there in ciderville who have been following
For a while do hit the Subscribe button I don’t want you to miss anything soon we’ll be saying goodbye to season 8 of cider chat and rolling into season 9 with just amazing stuff coming on the horizon for 2024 but before we say goodbye to this year of
2023 we have this wonderful replay of episode 303 with Al sax who will be telling us how to really run your own was sale and if You’ never heard of that before well it is a gathering of people around an apple tree to really celebrate the Orchards and honor the natural world
And also to pay tribute with a hope of an abundant fruiting season moving forward and for anyone who is a grower out there in ciderville with apple trees each season has its challenges so anything we could do to well have an excuse for raising a glass is fine by me
And also to really have that focus on abundance and it’s kind of a O2 I think also to the farmers and orchardists who really work hard to get a an abundant crop Against All Odds Frost different diseases all that kind of jazz so this is a season for celebrations and you’re
Going to learn in this episode how to have your own W some great tips we’ll be going to that episode features shortly but first we have a wee bit of news from Mountain bout in cerville starting first with one of the sponsors of this here podcast cidercon 2024 is a little over
Two weeks away once this year episode goes live it’s taking place in Portland Oregon starting on January 15th with cider tours there’s actually only one tour that is still open for reservation so if you are headed to cidercon and you thought oh I could wait do not make that
A habit do not wait when it comes to cider people going on tours because everyone loves a cider tour and this one going out to the Columbia Gorge is going to be spectacular the ride alone is worth the trip so do not if you’re thinking a tour sign up for that it’s
The last one that is open but there is so much more going on than just those cider tours it’s a huge huge project put on by the American cider association with a lot of help from a lot of wonderful people also like the Northwest cider Association and Cena and all the
Different makers attending there’s going to be a CER share on Wednesday tons of stuff and now the schedule I think it’s the most updated one and you know things do change but I noticed that John Bunker is going to be at ceron doing not one but two Workshop presentations and those
Regular listeners out there in ciderville know that John Bunker is someone I always want to have on the podcast I record anything that he says we’re going to be having having an upcoming uh keynote address from John Bunker from New York Apple Camp that’ll be rolling out I believe uh I think in
The next episode I think that’s true don’t don’t hold me to that anywh who John’s going to be doing first apples 101 how to identify an apple and then he’s going to be doing how to phenotypically describe an apple well I suppose if you could pronounce phenotypically the first time around it
Took me a couple runs here I I pulled out the bloopers you’re going to be in good hands uh so he has Apple 101 and apples 102 plus there’s tons of tasting sessions I’ve heard pretty much all of them are all sold out at this point but
That doesn’t mean if you missed out on tasting session there’s going to be a lot of tasting going on you know at the hotel and into the late hours and at all the events happening as part of Oregon cider week yaoa and if you feel like you
Can’t catch up and you’re like running tired and you’re already headed to cider con and you’ve had barely a moment to look at the schedule we got you because myself and Shan Connelly AKA cider experience you might have seen him on Instagram or Facebook Sean Connelly and
I recorded a going to cidercon 2024 episode and that’ll be going live the week before cider con so we got you covered you are okay you could listen to that get your tips so once you land at the airport that’s where we start from the airport moving into Portland proper
What to do what kind of apps to have for transportation and info around the city where to eat a whole bunch of good stuff and Sean is going to be actually with me at cidercon as part of the cider chat team helping me do some recordings so
Maybe you’ll actually see me not running around the the conference center as I often do do to get those recordings in I do a lot of interviews and ah it’s such a busy wonderful time I hope to see everyone there I know speaking for the American cider Association on their
Behalf they all want to see all the folks in The Cider industry cider enthusiasts and just really having a moment in time to celebrate all the hard work that everybody does each and every year so again that’s coming up January 15th through the 19th in in Portland Oregon you can find
Out more information at cider association.org and do know there’s also the Oregon cider week there’ll be links in the show notes to each of those and then on Saturday January 20th is the cider Summits new program just for this conference called Arians artisians by cider Summit that’s
Put on by Al Shapero so you have like a whole bevy of cider Focus stuff going on in Portland and to kind of take the rabbit out of the Hat it turns out like Portland is like one of the highest consumption data numbers in the US OFA
For that City so if you’re headed to Portland any time of the year you’re going to be able to find a lot of great cider to be had just in the city proper and if you’re going for cider con 2024 and I sure hope you are you are in the good hands for
All the fine work that the American CER Association has done to bring us up to this point so tip of the hat to them make sure if you’re not a member join today and if you can’t make it to 2024 you know there will be 2025 and you got
To keep on shooting for that prize you don’t want to miss out don’t go and have that fomo no no no no you want to sign up today at CER association.org I’m going to go out on the branch here and assume that if you’re listening to cider chat you
Probably really enjoy apples and like to learn about them and each and every one is super super unique which is why on all the different social media channels that cider chat is on such as Instagram at cider chat ciderville on Tik talkk at CER chat and on The Cider chat YouTube
Channel I have been rolling out an apple the day featuring a single varietal cider made by Renaissance Orchard now they did this whole what they call Orchard Samplers of key cider making apples pressed the juice and did a standardized cider for each and every single Apple there’s no Blended Apple in
There and then broke it down to tannins aromatics acidity astringency sweetness and phenolics gave a little write up whether it’s a blender or an apple that can be keed if you’re not familiar with that word just put it in the search box at cider chat.com and you’ll come up
With the episode episode all on keing and to give a little bit of history there where it came from was it England was it from France is it a us-based apple just really cool information and that incredible Series has been teaching me so much about apples at a level I really needed to
Learn and I highly recommend getting this Orchard sampler which can be found at venos shipper Chris just happened to send me the whole case of Samplers earlier this year I’ve been sitting on it so I could have something fun to roll out to the end of the year into
2024 and I could tell by the reception that I’ve been getting on all these different social media channels when each episode goes out that you all out there in ciderville are enjoying it too and seeing what is possible as an educational tool this is really uplevel things I mean and imagine somebody
Brought this up I think it was actually Al sax who is on this week’s episode I believe it was where he said imagine if you went to an orchard and you said well you know which tree should I get should I get a debonet or an ashm kernel or maybe a marshelle
Or frequin what which one should I have and all of a sudden they said well here you could purchase one of these little Samplers here taste it and see if that’s an apple that you would like to ferment wouldn’t that be that’s like mindblowing I love that idea and
Maybe that’ll be something to look at in the future it’s certainly helping me and I know that coming this year that Renaissance Orchards they actually sell signwood of all these different trees that I have been covering uh wow you know now you can listen you could see
The label and now you have all this information and maybe try something that you never heard about before certainly some of these apples I never heard about before which is what it’s all about so again thanks every every body for listening keep on following along if you
Haven’t seen it just check out any of the social media channels that cider chat is on you can find them all at cider chat.com and check it out walk to the orchard up next Al sax is going to be telling us how to run our own a sale but
I do want to let folks know who are in North Carolina that Al is actually going to be the Green Man the butler that’s the person who kind of leads the was sale at a wonderful cidery and Winery known as botnus and Barrel that’s going to be taking place on January 5th and
Begins at 5:00 p.m. so it’s going to be an orchard blessing with Alx you’re going to hear some music by walking medicine and there’s going to be a bonfire and I heard and this is just like throws me over the moon here that they’re going to be providing an actual
Toast during the was they’ll have warm mold cider and vegetarian chili there’s a suggested donation and that donation is going to be going to cider chat to help cider chat continue to spread the word about cider I tell you it brings a tear to my eye
I’m thank you thank you biss and barl thank you elx for doing this this was just out of the blue to me when I heard this news and for a podcast that is now rolling into season 9 very shortly and it’s totally listener supported where every single penny is counted I mean you
Know I’m hoping that I don’t have to eat noodles when I go to Oregon because it’s tight it goes out of my pocket and when you it’s going out of your own pocket to kind of keep a podcast alive going into nine years something like this is just
Just makes 2024 feel a little bit brighter so I’d like to thank the folks at botnus Barrel it’s a kind of a cool Family scene there this was sale is going to be a wonderful time you’re going to get to hear from Al shortly get
A sense of who he is and if you want to find out more there will be a link in the show notes to that was sale or you could go to the Facebook page for Bess and Barrel or even their website Bess and Barrel just Google that and look at
The events and there you’ll see it January 5th 202 4 5 p.m. was sale and Orchard blessing how awesome so check that out and thanks to everyone again all right up next we’re going to be going to our featured presentation with Alx all on how to have your own was Sale El sax was last on cider chat in episode 72 titled lost apples of the Quabbin he did a presentation with Matt Kaminsky who is also known as gnarly pippens on Instagram and the two of them were charting different apples in an area known as the quaven reservoir which
Was taken over many years ago to build a giant Reservoir that feeds the city of Boston and as such about about well not about but Five Towns were basically torn down and moved out of there everything the the landscape was totally clear yet the apples some of them remain so that
Is a pretty cool episode and I’ll put a link in the show notes to hear the Lost apples of the Quabbin but on this here episode he’s going to be telling us about how you can do your own wasel because he has been leading wases for a
Number of years he is what is known as the butler or the master of ceremony so get your cup ready and join this chat with Al saxs of Amherst Massachusetts W sales have a long history that go back into medieval and maybe even before medieval times where in the middle of
Winter people wanted to go out and make sure that they celebrated their Orchards and wish them well so that they could be fruitful into the next year Orchards were an important part of the rural economy if you think about the old ways of orcharding you would have animals
Like cattle or sheep underneath the trees and above the trees would bring Apples and uh it provided you know fruit and drink and dried apples and it was a really important part of a of a local economy so wasel if you go back to the original meaning comes from this the the
The anglosaxon or the Norse meaning to your health and in the old days people would say wasel meaning I wish you health and the response would be drink hail and you would drink a toast to the the person who offered the the wasel toast to you I
Like was sales because they bring people out to the orchard in the winter we’ve often been cooped up for a while and uh it gets us outside we remember that there is a whole natural world out there we’re not just staring at Four Walls we understand that there’s you know a real
Beautiful world at night too it’s not generally held during the daytime but of course it can be and um it’s a way to also celebrate the people who grow apples and and uh maintain the Orchards so I’d love to talk to you a little bit today about what I do to put one
Together cool so when you say was it also could be um if I was doing in the Norse way it would be vesale you know you’re better at the Nordic languages than I yeah I don’t think so I know the songs but I don’t know all
Of the uh all the pronunciation from uh from uh various countries well it’s all about the song So when does it take place generally it’s thought about as happening on 12th night and 12th night of course changed over time because there was a change uh from the Julian
Calendar to the calendar we currently use but basically it’s sometime like 12 days after Christmas or sometime in in January but you know I think that people need to think about this as the wind a wind’s a nice time to do it in January or early February it really doesn’t need
To have a specific date it needs to be when you can gather people together and uh kind of uh welcome in the new year and you know and make sure you’re you’re giving your orchard a good uh kick off to the to the uh it’s the next season
It’s kind of the beginning of the whole apple season and just to give a nod to our friends down in the southern hemisphere their midwinter time would be in July and I know that there is a cery in Tasmania which is the island off of Australia uh known as Apple Isle and at
Willie Smith they have their annual midwinter Festival in July I think it’s normally around July 15th and it’s kind of hard for us to be thinking about that but there’s a whole other world down in the southern hemisphere that is able to you know bring in this tradition so um
Yeah they they do it backwards down there and and that’s a good thing too are we it backwards up here you know exactly who knows which who knows which is which it’s around Globe so yeah um it it takes place there there’s two things like the 12th night you know like the
Traditionalist will be like the the fifth or the sixth of January right and then a lot of folks really kind of focusing in around the 16th or the 15th 16th or 17th however it falls it’s always like on a a weekend uh these days I don’t know if they did it on weekend
In the the old days it was when it happened was on the 12th night to be exact and I love your point at that it could be any time of the year that kind of makes it doable absolutely and people do this uh as you know they’ll they’ll
Do some that are very simple they can do them inside they can bring a a little uh potted apple tree into a to like a daycare and and and uh and celebrate the apples and the trees there they could do this out during the day in your backyard
Even if your orchard is just one tree you know uh you don’t need to have a massive uh uh field of uh of trees to to do this but typically um when I try to set these up I try to find uh an orchard
Or or a group of friends who want to do this we will find an orchard and we will plan it for a night that people can come so you you think about all those things you like you do with any party like okay where are we going to park the cars that
Type of thing and so here’s the typical uh Arrangement that that I would think about you have a place to gather near the orchard if it’s at night time you’re going to need lights um and in some traditions uh there are um torches that are brought to to the procession the
First one that wasel I went to was in England at a commercial Orchard and there were a lot of torches and it was pretty exci exciting and probably a little freaky for me because coming from the United States torch lights possessions at night were generally things that seem to be associated with
Uh terrible things happening to people and kind of scary but it was kind of neat to see it in a celebratory way too so these days I’ve used both live torches and um basically flashlights and the live torches or candles are very fun you have to be
Careful because you don’t want to burn yourself and uh it’s always good to have a backup flashlight Because unless you’re skilled at making torches they go out right well I I always enjoyed going to the was sale that you’ve done at the car Cider House which is a local cidery
In our area here in Western Massachusetts and I know that Matt Kaminski known as gnarly narly Pippen thank you um is often making the torches and handing them out and what I do know about torch making is going out and getting a good stick uh having some wire and using
Natural fibers like cotton you don’t want to use anything like a uh nylon which could melt no poies yeah yeah and then uh you wrap that up at the top of the torch have maybe a pointy end on the bottom or have a designated spot once
You get to the location to put your torches into the ground and they will burn for a long time and because you’re using uh maybe paraffin or other different substances on the material itself they could be hard to put out so yes play safe yeah be safe usually
There’s snow around in in our area so it’s not too much of a problem so so the procession you want to gather everybody together because you want to process you want to make a procession up to your your was sales site and you know it may
Be 20 feet or it may be longer than that you may want to go we I’ve gone you know for like a half a mile to the site and that’s been a lot of fun generally what you will want to have is a site that’s prepared near a large apple tree which
Is what you will use as the centerpiece of your was sale and um since it’s cold uh and traditionally there is a fire now I’ve been to was sales where they’ve had 12 fires ringing a tree which stand for the 12 apostles and um that’s a pretty impressive uh
Situation when you can see that but um in most of the little was sales I’ve been involved with in in the United States um there’s only been one fire and of course it’s it’s quite welcome at that time of year um people will or people should bring some cider with them
Whether it’s sweet or made made in their own basements or or gotten at the at the your local cery we process generally to a site um there would be a uh hopefully a fire already going so that people can gather around that we wait for everybody to gather and then um
Proceed with a a short ceremony after which uh we potluck and have a bunch of food so that’s it uh in a in a in a nutshell the procession is an important part of it traditionally there is to people who will play the role of a king
Or queen now that’s you know anybody can be the king or the queen typically it’s young people who’ve been picked to do this one thing that I found is that it’s great to have uh anybody do this but whoever you pick should feel you you need to have people who aren’t shy
Because they will have a role uh in the in the in the ceremony and so you know people can get dressed up in all sorts of of funny clothes and um if I am leading the ceremony uh which I I do in in number I’ve done in a number of
Occasions um I would be referred to in England as the butler who is the MC we would say in in this country but the butler leads the uh kind of leads the show and kind of helps people follow along with what’s happening and um and I
Like to dress up as uh a very traditional Celtic character called The Green Man and you’ll see those faces of of the Green Man on old uh churches in England and the people who have like faces that look like they’re made out of oak leaves or whatever and they’re
They’re a um kind of a half man half nature uh you know kind of fairy or God and you know this is all about having fun and and and playing but also respecting the role that we have interacting with nature and um being uh in in concert with nature and uh because
We are trying to encourage the trees to to give us great apples and so we can have more apple cider the next year if you’re planning a a was sale if it’s at your own Orchard or you’re doing it as you said a daycare center or maybe even
At an elder Center uh you know indoors you might want to have a a little Mind’s Eye on who’s going to be the king or queen uh but there’s other ways to get the king and queen too you could pick them ahead of time but there’s also
Something where you could eat uh cake and in that slice of cake I believe there’s like it’s kind of like what they do in Louisiana to like who’s goingon to host a party that year they have the little gold baby yeah well that’s also a very a tradition in Wales too there’s uh
You know sometimes they put a coin in in a in a cake and people could eat the cake and whoever’s got that oh I’ve got the coin you know they could be the one who’s who’s who’s leading it or there could be there could be a you know like
You could do one potato two potato there’s any number of ways that you could pick who who wants to uh who wants to lead that and uh and they need to you know and they can be celebrated in very sort of gentle ways of like oh so you
Know uh of course in the old days you might if if it was a u TI celebration you might be considered the king or queen of misrule and have a lot of Mischief up your sleeve and uh be able to be a little more of a prankster but
Really depends on how you want to see this thing um roll out do they lead the procession or is it I like them to I like them to lead the procession and if you’re lucky enough to have people who are musical or even partly musical if
They can bring a drum or you know um a a a accordion or something of that sort or or any whistle or something just have some kind of a music so people can you know kind of March along up to the uh to the wasel site and then that’s where you
Sort of start your you start your your ceremony around the fire you know we’re in 2022 now so just for folks listening out in cville you know the king and queen can be anyone um absolutely it could be you know non-binary the whole landscape is at your feet to create
Whatever wasel you want but just kind of knowing the Traditions here and Al I think that at one time you know it it had to be young people and maybe a virgin is that true that’s what the that’s what the rules were in the past that’s what I’ve read is that uh you
Know they they wanted this this to be as pure a person as possible in the as they thought about in the old days right just showed you how Traditions kind of change to make it for modern times so Folks proceede up they’re carrying torches and it’s this where they’d also be banging
The pots and the pants uh they’ve be making some noise but it’s not quite not quite yet but people do need to do need to think about noise makers at some point you know U there’s uh we we’ll get to that in in in a minute I have to say
Having attended W sales I know that there’s like a certain excitement when everybody gathers and then all of a sudden you see someone like Al saac show up with his green paint on and his celebratory hat it just gets everybody in this like buzz it’s like so exciting
Then the torches get lit and you start proceeding up it is quite a spectacle to see it’s it’s a lot of fun you know the other things that we’ve done to help people sometimes we’ve been doing this in very snowy nights and and uh so sometimes we’ll have somebody with a
Pickup truck who can help people who have a hard time walking uh get up to the the site um but you you can figure those all those things out depending on your locality and you know getting access to the site is is uh is the thing that you need to to be thinking
About okay so we head up to the site and then what there’s a there’s a fire lit gather people together you explain a little bit about what wasel is namely that it’s a way to bless the Orchard and support its Defenders that you want to basically wish the trees and the orchard
Well so they will provide fruit for the next year so what I’ve done and it again this varies from tradition to tradition and place to place and this is a living tradition so we keep making it up as we go along but I like to go around the
Tree three times and uh that’s you know representing the changing of the seasons the changing of the year the changing of the moon but I like to go around three times with a king and a queen leading us I like to pour a little Cider on the
Roots of the tree to give it strength into the into the next year and another interesting thing is that we like to hang toast up in the trees and the toast in the trees is to support the Tom twitz or the little birds or the robins or the Rens who are considered to
Be the Defenders of the Orchard and so we want to give them a little piece of toast soaked lightly in cider and we hang them up into the trees to thank our Defenders of the of the Orchard and I generally make a joke about it being part of my integrated Pest management
System but hey that’s so true because think about it uh one one living apple tree can have like a thousand different species I understand of insects on one single tree so that it’s not just for the mice and stuff it’s for everything no birds Deer uh all sorts of Little Critters yeah
Yeah absolutely and our and our and of course our friend the fungus yeah right right that’s a little bit changed from like the tradition because wasn’t it Tom tit like it would be a young boy and they’d call that young boy Tom tit um or the queen would be lifted up into the
Apple tree and that the queen or Tom tip would place the the The Cider soaked toast on it yes and that’s that’s all I mean it depends on which area you’ve collected this information from as to what the tradition is so there’s been uh young Lads that have been put up in a
Tree to to act as Tom tit um there have been uh uh you know young girls have been lifted up uh to be to be putting the toast in the trees and I generally just like to have anybody who wants to hang toast on a tree hang toast
In the tree bring some toast right right it’s a symbolic symb no doubt and and the toast itself um when we say toast we actually people pre-arrange and have toasted bread what do you correct is that is that like what you pretty much have seen predominantly or when you’re
Over in the UK yes it’s it’s some people get will have a piece of toast with a hole in it and a ribbon stuck through it so you can hang it easily other people just take a piece of bread and stick it in the branches you know or or just poke
A hole in the bread and stick it over a twig um or stick it in a y you know I mean it’s really it’s again symbolic it’s not not really a bird feeding station right right so folks walk around the you have folks walk around the apple tree there
Are a number of different sort of traditional um traditional chants that people would be saying um there’s songs and chants people will sing this song Oh apple tree we wasle thee and hope that thou th bear for L Lord do know where we shall be when apples come another year
So bear well to fruit well so Mary let us be let every everyone drink up his cup cry Health to the old apple tree and then we say hats full cat fulls Barrel fulls three bushel bags full Barn floors full and even a little Heap Under the
Stairs And if you it’s kind of fun to get everybody to act out each one of those different things hat fulls you kind of hold out a little hat cat fulls again you maybe hold out a bigger hat barrels full put your arms wide like it’s a barrel three bushel bags full you
Act like you’re burdened down barns full you just you know kind of demonstrate how big a barn would look and then the little Heap under the store floors is the last part and so you can get that you know any way you can get the crowd involved you know if you give them
Little parts to do it’s it’s adds to the fun then people would would shout watchale at this point start trying to make a lot of loud noise to dve the bad spirits away from The Orchards anything that would Pro provide any kind of uh damage or injury to the apple
Trees like porcupines in our area or bears really bears are probably bears do some big damage and so do like if you have a young Orchard you have your mice and VES and rabbits that might eat the the the the the bark um and one of the
Things that’s been nice is that I’ve seen people add all sorts of different parts to um the wasel including the reading of poems and there’s a couple uh Robert Frost poems that are very nice um in a glass of cider is one that that that I like and I think that’s that’s always
Fun to add into the ceremony but these are things you can add in while people are standing around the fire when singing songs because there’s there’s a number of different songs that are um often can be built into this um into this this ceremony here you have
Something it can be done outside um it gets us out into the fresh air for sure now moris dancers are a big part of this at at some sites um that’s right and do you have anything to say about that Al or yeah you need to you need to you need
To get to be friends with your local Morris group and see if they want to see if they want to participate um you know sometimes they uh the the one of the uh the the wasel I went to and in uh in Harford England was led by a Morris
Troop and um they were um quite funny and quite ribal um they’re they they’re they had very Politically Incorrect humor um and uh and uh uh but it was a it was very fun uh evening people were you know they tried to keep it um keep
It clean for the family part of the ceremony and they later Departed to drink more cider offsite somewhere and sing um dirty songs oh my goodness so there’s always troublemakers that’s what keeps our world so entertaining so the the procession you do the blessing on the Apple Tree you you pick an apple
Tree that you know you think is a is an one that people can gather around in a good old generally the some people say the oldest apple tree but it it doesn’t matter I’ve we’ve done was sales where it’s been a apple tree that’s like three
Years old so it doesn’t really you know um it it just you know it’s a and in fact um some of the older poems that you read about Wasing um they wasil plums and other fruits as well as apples traditionally we think of it as an Apple
Center ceremony but it’s um it’s more of an in some ways it’s it comes out of an orcharding tradition and while sailing uh is something that was done and then kind of transformed into colling where people would go around and it was a way not to
Bake for food or anything we go up to the door and you would was sale and people would be able to bestow you with cider and food well if you if you go back to its um English Roots you you can see that there’s sort of two strains of
Wasing one is the one that’s sort of centered on the orchard um and uh you know and then the other one is centered on the uh on the hall and uh the or the or the um the main house and people coming around to wash sale at that house
Um and um so it was essentially a like many English U tide songs you hear about people coming door Todo and asking for you know uh a bit of you know pudding or a drink or something of that sort in Wasing they were drinking out of wasel cups which were very traditionally
Wooden two-handled cups um that had a whole ceremony built into them and I’ve actually not been that involved in any kind of door Todo while sailing um but if you think about it you know around Christmas time you know there are um and and you know in the Christian Community there’s
A lot of different kinds of door-to-door singing that goes on caroling paranda down in Puerto Rico um where you know people will come and eat and drink together and sing songs um so you know this is this is part of a um you know um
Both a a really old school thing as well as a uh as well as part of Christian culture too I kind of like how they do it down in Puerto Rico where they’ll then grab all the people from that house and then go to the next house and then
Grab all the people from that house and go to the next house and and it just becomes like this massive like you know party moving from you know space to space I think they really have it going on there yeah and there’s a similar there’s a there’s a similar um up in um
In Nova Scotia in the uh french- speaking communities these are more of a pre-lent uh celebrations but they have again Mid Winter festivals where people are are celebrating before they go into into their lent uh with masks and you know uh people not knowing who’s who’s
There and it’s it’s it’s going door too and having fun with folks yes so I guess it’s always nice to tip our our cup to our neighbors in the UK k for really creating this tradition as they had it and how it spread out but really it’s
Kind of coming down to all of us to create our own Traditions around wasel and with the main point of getting out to celebrate and if it surrounds cider and apple trees all the better for me it’s also about connecting back with the natural world and realizing you know our our our
Sustenance does come from the earth and uh the Earth is uh out there doing his thing 247 all year long whether we’re outside and enjoying it or not and it’s it’s good to get back in touch with I think it’s I think it’s um it’s a great Community
Celebration I think it’s a great way to promote an orchard if you’re an orchard uh you know if you’re running an orchard I think it’s a way to bring people together and um and and have some fun in some common ground right on well I’d
Like to say to you Al was sale drink in the show notes for this year episode 303 you’ll be able to find a list of things to do to prepare to hold a was sale and you’ll also find the words to Robert Frost’s poem in a glass of cider
At the very tail end of this episode you’ll hear Al sax our featured guests reciting the poem and with that I leave you here this is RI wind caller signing off for now looking forward to seeing you in ciderville in a glass of cider by Robert
Frost it seemed I was a might of sediment that waited for the bottom of ferment and so I could catch a bubble in as scent I rode up on one till the bubble burst and when that left me to sink back reverse I was no worse off than I was at
First I’d catch another bubble if I waited and the thing was to get now and then elated so he’s he’s just talking about the bubble going up and and he’s talking about being a piece of a piece of sediment at the bottom and jumping on a
Bubble and rising up in the barrel how trippy Robert Fross I mean he must have been so much fun to hang out with you know I know we like we like Pals we love Orchards and having fun there is a reason there is a reason why we do it
Like this oh yes there is there is a reason why we do it like this oh yes there is is a reason why we drink it like this yes is there is a reason we like walking through the Orchards dancing in the streets smelling all the BLS kicking up our feet we
Likeed we like THS we like gures having some fun there is a reason there is a reason why we do it like this yes there is there is a reason why we do it like this oh yes there is there is a reason why we drink it like this oh yes
There is there is a reason we like walking through the Orchards dancing in the streets smelling all the blossoms kicking up our feet oh yeah we like Sid oh yes we do we like Pals oh yes we do we love Orchard having some fun there is a reason there
Is a reason why we do it like this is a reason why we do it like this there is a reason why we drink it like this we like walking down the Orchards dancing in the streets smelling all the blossoms kicking up a feel oh yeah we like s
We like Pals oh yes we do we like gards having some Fun yeehaw
What does Wassail & Drink Hail mean? In this episode learn about meaning behind Wassail and Drink Hail from the Butler himself, Al Sax.
A Wassail is a celebration of the orchards, most typically apple orchards to honor the natural world and pay tribute with hopes of an abundant fruiting season moving forward.
A Wassail is also a cheer
When you hear someone say “Wassail” it means -Be Healthy! The reply is “Drink hail” – To your health! Al as the Butler at the Wassail When time of year to Wassail? Historically a Wassail would be held on the 6th of January or what is known as the Twelfth Night. Or on the 17th of January which is called “Old Twelvey”
Procession to the main Wassail fire In these modern times a Wassail can take place when it is most appropriate considering the weather and outside temperatures. There is no strict protocols, but rather traditions that when followed harken us all back to our ancestral roots and pagan ways.
Where do Wassails take place? In the orchard surrounding a large fire, a fire circle and in some places 12 small rings of fire for the 12 apostles or for the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
Indoor Wassails are also doable for those who can’t go outside during -6 degree temperatures. Thus, a Wassail can take place at a Senior Center or a Day Care with songs being sung around a plant or small tree.
How to Make a Torch for Wassailing
The end goal is all the same, to sing to the orchard, the apple tree(s), to ward off the apple foes and to harken in better times ahead.
The Old Apple Tree of the Wassail How to Plan for your own Wassail Have a fire keeper who will make sure the wood is ready and lit to greet the parade of merry makers Set a meeting spot for everyone to gather and then walk to the oldest or largest apple tree. The fire is often very nearby. Have “Safe” Torches, flashlights to lead the crowd to the main fire Have some hot mulled cider, which is always good for a loud “Wassail and Drink Hail” reply Have a Master of the Ceremony or what is known as the “Butler” Select a King and Queen Have slices of Toasted bread Have Cider to drink and to pour a bit on the toast and onto the ground Hand out lyrics to the Wassail songs The King and Queen lead the group up to the Apple Tree Place the toast on the limbs Pour cider on the roots of the tree Make noise to ward off the evil spirts – this is your chance to call out “Wassail” and then reply “Drink Hail”! If Morris Dancers are available they would do a dance or two Have a taste of two of Wassail – pick an option that best suits your crowd. It can be a hot mulled cider, with or without spices or fortified with brandy, perhaps a wee bit of honey? A two handled cup or goblet is the classic Wassail cup that would be passed round, but these days any fine drinking cup would do sans the passing around.
Wassail and Drink Hail around the world Willie Smiths Cider in Tasmania hosts an annual “Mid Winter Festival” in July Campaign for the Revival Of Wassailing (CROW) www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house-and-park/recipes/petworths-traditional-wassail Mentions in this Cider Chat 072: Lost Apple of the Quabbin |Massachusetts January 5, 2024 Wassail at Botanist and Barrel Cidery and Winery, 115 Persimmon Hill Ln, Cedar Grove, NC 27231-8807, United States Hear about the orchard samplers and cider made at Renaissance Orchards in Ferndale Washington in Episode 390