Garden Pictures Pictures by spritzhenry (1647 photos)

Were you all dancing to celebrate planting the tree? Lindak

No, the village likes to go to a different orchard in the area each year, and the one offered this year happens to be quite a newly planted orchard. One of the apple trees gets decorated and is the focal point for the Wassail. After the Morris men had their 'go' everybody present danced all round and among the trees. It's great fun as well as being a very old custom!

What a lovely Pagan tradition of celebrating the nature and thanking it. I am looking more and more into celebrating, or at least acknowledging these type of things, even so far as to celebrate Solstice on the 21st December instead of Christmas, but with the kids still at home it can't be avoided,by the way which one is you, Wassailling by the way??? Did you put bread in the tree and douse it with cider?

This group of Morris Men danced on their own with us all watching, but after that - yes, I did everything, dancing in wellies is strange but fun! I took the photos so I am not in them. I did 'feed' a tree! Everybody did - I guess there were drunk birds the next day - I should have walked Henry down there to watch them lurching about....lol.

Dancing in Wellies, Spritz?
It's an older tradition that I realised!