Abstract
ADDENDA. December 24. A rite practised on Christmas Eve as well as on New Year's Eve in many parts of Great Britain, but especially in the south and west, was that of wassailing the fruit trees. A bowl of eider and a cake from the ritual meal of Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve was taken to the orchard; the cake was placed on a branch of the tree and the cider poured over the trunk. This ensured the fertility of the tree in the coming year. In Sussex a doggerel set of verses—the relic of a charm—was sometimes said as the cider was poured out, while the line, “Give earth and she'll not fail,” which occurs in the Hampshire song, clearly shows the intention of the rite.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Calendar of Customs and Festivals. Nature 122, 1016 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/1221016a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1221016a0