Muriel
Broderick, artist |
Twelfth
Night Customs in Merrie Old England:
Wassailing the Apple-Trees
Wassailing
the Apple-trees was once popular in fruit-growing
districts of England. It took place either
on old Christmas Eve (January 5), on Old
Twelfth Night, or on New Year's Eve. A
bowl of cider or spiced ale was carried
to the orchard, where the wassail was
drunk, and the lees poured over the roots
of the trees.
Horns
were blown, kettles banged and guns fired
to frighten away evil spirits, while a
boy, representing bird, (the spirit of
the tree), would climb into the branches
and be fed with cake. A traditional song
was sung, of which this is a variant,
"Apples and pears with right good
corn, Come in plenty to everyone, Eat
and drink good cake and hot ale, Give
Earth to drink and she'll not fail."
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Twelfth
Night Cake
In
the days when Christmas was kept in
the "good old-fashioned way,"
the Twelfth Night celebrations marked
the last of the twelve days of feasting
and jollification following the Festival
itself. It was on Twelfth Night that
some of the famous cake, in which was
hidden a bean and a pea, was handed
to every guest. The man and woman lucky
enough to find these in their portions
were acclaimed respectively "King
of the Bean" and "Queen of
the Pea," and presided over the
revels which followed.
By
the 17th and 18th centuries the cake
itself was often made into elaborate
and even fantastic shapes, such as ships
and castles, with guns which could be
fired. As late as in the 19th confectioners'
shops were lit up on Twelfth Night to
display cakes.
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