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The 4th Annual Purbeck Wassail Ceremony And Celebration

Evil spirits were banished from an orchard using a millenia-old tradition in the shadow of Corfe Castle at Purbeck Cider Farm.

On the evening of Saturday, 18th January, revellers from far and wide gathered at Purbeck Cider Farm near Corfe Castle for the 4th annual Wassail ceremony and celebration.

Starting at 5:30pm, everyone gathered in the barn, festooned in fairy lights, as carols were sung to warm up the crowd, followed by a performance from the local morris dancing troupe.

Dancing to the tunes played by local folk players, the all-women Morris dancers skipped and tapped their sticks to the sound of the fiddler, accompanied by accordions and tambourines.

After their 30-minute set was over, it was the turn of the Local Mummer acting troupe. 

Wearing their traditional outfits made from old torn pieces of cloth, the actors played out a story of King George fighting champions to earn the right to marry the daughter of the King of Egypt.

The pantomime theme of the play had the crowd whooping and yelling as the King felled all his foes, while adding a humorous quip or two sometimes with help from the crowd.

Once the performance was over, the mummers gathered the crowd, and it was time to lead the procession out into the orchard for the main event.

The procession was led out into the darkness; each person was given a torch and invited to light them in a brazier.

It wasn’t long until dozens of torches blazed about the crowd, the embers skipping up into the night sky.

Cries of “WASSAIL!” from the mummers were met with the cry in return from the crowd, signalling the procession to begin their walk up to the orchard.

Gathered within the apple trees the mummers surround a nominated “Wassail Tree”, lit by 12 candles to mark earth month of the year.

The crowd lit up the orchard and were kept warm on a cold January night from the heat coming off the mass of burning torches in their hands.

They are joined by the Wassail King and Queen, during the day known as Joe and Katie, who run Purbeck Cider Farm, to perform the essential rituals.

The Queen wishes the orchard well and splashes the tree with cider from last year’s harvest; another popular tradition would be for her to also place pieces of toast in the branches.

The Mummers lead a performance of traditional Wassail songs and poems to extend the merriment.

Next is the turn of the King; to make sure the evil spirits get the message to stay out of the field, he discharges a couple of shots from his shotgun into the sky.

This is the signal for the crowd to now play their part; they are encouraged to shout and bang pots and pans to scare away the last of any malevolent entities.

With that, the ceremony was over, and fingers crossed the trees will grow plentiful, healthy apples for the year’s harvest.

The origins of “Wassailing” are unknown, though references go back to the post-Roman period.

The name is thought to come from the Anglo-Saxon term “Waes-hael,” meaning “good health,” but is used as a general term for cheers!

To finish off the night, it was back to the barn, via the farm shop, of course, where a local musician performed and people could dance the night away or settle down with a warm mulled cider and burger or pie from the onsight BBQ tent.

The queue in the farm shop was long out the door of the shop as revellers picked up a souvenir hat, a bottle or two from the range of ciders on the shelves, or to pick up a fresh pint to take to the dancefloor.

No doubt by Sunday morning there was a wassailer or two, still with the smell of smoke in their hair, nursing a sore head from a pint of cider too many, reminiscing about the festivities from the night before.

With any luck, they picked up a bottle of the “Jurassic juice cloudy apple” to restore themselves, until it’s time for the 5th annual Wassail ceremony at Purbeck Cider Farm

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