While the Northern Hemisphere revels in summer’s abundance of warmth, colour and growth, winter has firmly settled across the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. The air is crisp, the nights are long and cold, and frost gathers like silver lace upon the branches of sleeping trees. As nature slows and turns inward, we too look to the seasonal calendar and its ancient customs to mark the turning of the wheel of the year.
Wassailing
One of my favourite winter traditions inherited from Great Britain is the ancient custom of Wassailing. Although its origins lie thousands of kilometres away, it can be celebrated wherever apple trees grow. Whether you tend a sprawling orchard or simply wish to honour a favourite fruit tree in your garden, all you need is a little cider, some toast, a collection of pots and pans, a few willing voices, and a spirit of celebration.
The tradition is wonderfully simple. Gather beneath the bare branches on a winter’s evening with hot mulled cider in hand. Make as much noise as possible – bang pots and pans, beat drums, sing loudly and, if you’re fortunate enough to have a local Morris dancing side nearby, invite them along to clash their sticks and join the festivities. The aim is to awaken the orchard, drive away any malevolent spirits lingering among the trees, and encourage the life-giving energies that will bring a healthy and abundant harvest in the seasons ahead.
Roots in the Cider, Cider on the Roots
Wassailing has its roots in the cider-producing regions of England’s West Country, where it has been practised for centuries. Traditionally held on or around Twelfth Night, on 5 January in the Northern Hemisphere, it is both a blessing and a celebration of the apple trees upon which communities once depended. The word wassail derives from the Anglo-Saxon greeting waes hael, meaning “be whole” or “be healthy”—a toast not only to the orchard but also to friends, neighbours and the year to come.
Custom dictates that pieces of toast, dipped in cider, are placed among the branches as an offering to the trees. Cider is poured around their roots to nourish and honour them, while songs are sung to awaken their spirits. Surrounded by laughter, music and the clatter of drums and pans, the gathered wassailers celebrate a tradition that connects people to the land, the seasons and each other.
In a world increasingly detached from seasonal rhythms, Wassailing offers a rare opportunity to pause and participate in an ancient earth-centred rite. On a frosty winter evening in the Adelaide Hills, beneath the silhouettes of bare apple trees and under a sky bright with stars, it is easy to understand why this joyful custom has endured for so many generations. It reminds us that even in the depths of winter, life is stirring beneath the surface, waiting for the promise of spring.
A traditional Wassail Song from the village of Carhampton in West Somerset
Old apple tree, we wassail thee
And hoping thou wilt bear
For the Lord doth know where we shall be
Till apples come another year
For to bear well, and to bloom well
So merry let us be
Let every man take off his hat
And shout to the old apple tree!
Old apple tree, we wassail thee
And hoping thou wilt bear
Hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls
And a little heap under the stairs
Hip! Hip! Hooray!
A Gathering of Friends
Each year in early July, a small orchard in the Adelaide Hills becomes the setting for a local Wassail celebration. What began as a gathering of a few friends has steadily grown, attracting an increasingly diverse group of participants. Many have no connection to Paganism or earth-based spirituality, yet they are drawn to the ritual’s sense of community, connection to nature, and celebration of the seasonal cycle.
Preparations begin before sunset. Mulled cider and wine are brewed with honey and warming spices, filling the air with the scents of winter. Offerings for the trees are carefully prepared, including pieces of toast that will later be hung among the branches. We like to add a creative touch, using biscuit cutters to shape the toast into stars and hearts before threading them onto ribbons and hanging them from the bare limbs of the orchard trees – not necessary, but they do look lovely hanging from the branches!
As dusk settles and the evening chill begins to descend, the group gathers and makes its way into the orchard. Often leading the procession are local Morris dancers, their bells jingling and sticks clashing in rhythmic accompaniment. The sound carries through the fading light, announcing the arrival of the wassailers and, according to tradition, awakening the orchard for the season ahead.
Earth Wassail
Earth Wassail is Spiral Dance’s version of the more traditional Gower Wassail, from South Wales.
Here in this field we first will be seen
to drink this tree’s health such custom has been
so unto the earth we’ll drink her good health
and hope she will prosper in bountiful wealth
It has been the custom as we’ve been told
by ancient house keepers in days of old
for young men and women together draw near
and fill up their bowls with cider and beer
WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL
Fill up your wassail bowl full to the brim
see, harnessed and garnished so neat and so trim
sometimes with laurel and sometimes with bay
according to custom to keep the old way
WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL
We hope all your apple trees prosper and bear
so you will have cider again the next year
for where you’ve a hogshead we hope you’ll have ten
so you will have cider when we come again
We hope all your barley will prosper and grow
so you will have barley and beer to bestow
for where you’ve a bushel we hope you’ll have ten
so you will have beer when we come again
WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL WASSAIL
Earth Wassail is a traditional song with music and performance by Spiral Dance from Notes of Being, released 2002, available on Bandcamp.
A Recipe for Mulled Cider
Multiply the recipe if you have a crowd!
1-1.5 litres of good craft alcoholic Cider
0 –100 ml Dark Rum, Spiced Rum, or Brandy
1 Orange, sliced
1 Apple sliced
2-3 Cinnamon quills
5-6 Cloves
2 Star anise
2-3 tbsp of honey (adjust to taste)
3 tablespoons of brown sugar (adjust to taste)
1 small piece of fresh ginger
Method:
In a large saucepan, combine the cider, orange slices, apple slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, ginger and brown sugar.
Simmer, bring the mixture to a very gentle simmer over low-medium heat. Do not let it boil, as this will boil off the alcohol.
Cover and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes to allow the spices to infuse.
Remove from heat and stir in the spiced rum or brandy and honey to taste.
Pop in your flask and take it to the Wassail site.
Honoring Ancestors and Tradition
Once in the orchard, we gather around our chosen tree and cast our circle, creating a sacred space in which to celebrate the rite. We begin by acknowledging the ancestors of the land on which we stand. The orchard lies on Peramangk Country, and we pay our respects to the Peramangk people, the Traditional Custodians of this place where we hold our Wassail.
No winter gathering feels complete without the warmth and comfort of fire, so braziers are lit and their flames flicker against the darkness of the cold evening. With the fire burning brightly, the Wassail begins.
A few words are spoken about the purpose of our gathering, the importance of the trees, and the ancient tradition of awakening them for the growing season ahead. A libation of cider is poured around the roots of the chosen tree as an offering, while pieces of toast are dipped into bowls of mulled cider before being tied to the branches or gently placed among the bare limbs.
Awakening the Orchard
Then comes the most fun part of the evening. Drums beat, sticks clash, tambourines jingle, and pots and pans are enthusiastically struck together. The noise is intended to drive away any lingering ill fortune and awaken the sleeping orchard from its winter rest. Laughter fills the air as participants embrace the joyful spirit of the occasion.
No Wassail would be complete without the sharing of the Wassail Cup, filled with steaming mulled cider and passed among friends. As the night unfolds, songs are sung and dances circle the tree beneath the winter sky. The celebration concludes with a communal feast, where apple crumble, apple pies and other seasonal treats are shared, bringing the ancient ritual to a warm and happy close.
Wrenne Wassail
Spiral Dance & the Wrenne Pagan Choir recorded Wrenne Wassail recorded in May 2026 and was released on the 1st of July, to celebrate Wassailing and the southern hemisphere winter. It is available on bandcamp where you will find a full list of credits.
Every season has a story
Let’s tell a winter’s tale
When branches are the barest bones
It’s time for the Wassail
This ancient orchard magic
Is the reason we are here
To wake the trees from slumber
And fill our hearts with cheer
Wassail we will sing
At the time of winter’s calling
Be fruitful in the spring
May you bud, bloom and bear *
Wassail we will sing
Now the night is falling
Be fruitful in the spring
May you bud, bloom and bear
Every winter has a story
Of when the frost will fall
the clouds weight dark and heavy
the land is held in thrall
In the orchards they are waiting
For cider, song and ale
A toast to our apple trees
Let us sing WassailThis season has a story
Of a deep mid-winters night
We’ve come to bless the orchard trees
Beneath the moon’s chill light
With pots and pans and noise and drums
Our offerings we bring
Hail to thee, old apple tree
And wassail we will sing
Lyrics from Wrenne Wassail, by Adrienne K Piggott
* The line May you bud, bloom and bear is taken from the traditional Whimple Wassail.
Raise a Cup!
Wassailing connects us to nature, the land, and one another. It is a celebration of community and a way to honour the orchard trees that sustain us, while remembering the ancient spirits believed to dwell among them.
Gathering in the heart of winter reminds us that the return of light and warmth is never far away. So, when Jack frost begins to bite next winter, gather your friends, pick up your drums, pots and pans, and head to the nearest apple trees.
Raise a cup, make some noise, and join in this timeless tradition.
Wassail!
For more information about Adrienne Piggot, including her collected articles here on Pagan Song, her bio, and links to her band Spiral Dance’s sites on the web, check out Adrienne’s author page here on Pagan Song.
Feature photo by Tom Swinnen
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