Here we come a wassailing

I love an old folklore tale as much as the next person, maybe more..After all, like I said in my Cumbrian tales blog, I am a second-gen hippie…. so whilst, as school choir girl, I would quite happily sing ‘Here we come a wassailing’ without the foggiest idea what a wassail was, I am now rather intrigued to find out more and impart my new knowledge onto you dear reader. As with all good English folk traditions, this one comes with cake!

The pagan festival of Wassailing, often thought to date back to the Anglo-Saxon times, has a lot of significance in rural areas and took place in the depths of a bleak midwinter, either on Twelfth Night or on Old Twelvey Night (17 January) according to the Julian calendar.

I guess that it’s a lot like us now marking Blue Monday in the calendar (around mid-January) as the most depressing day of the year. Or rather, as I like to think of it; Brew Monday, the perfect excuse to drink copious amounts of tea.

What is Wassailing?

This celebration, often taking place in orchards, was all about communal hope, good cheer, banishing bad spirits and trying to get the good spirits to bless the fruit trees and ensure a good harvest the following season.

All of this was done by causing a noisy riot around the apple trees, singing songs, dancing and drinking lots and lots of cider. A communal ‘Wassail bowl’ was used in the past for this ritual but I don’t think that would stand up to health and safety these days.

It wasn’t just the apples and pears that were celebrated during the Wassail. It was also symbolic for encouraging health and fertility, not only for the humans but also the animals.

In many places, Wassailing also took place within the barns and stables as livestock were also blessed for a good year to come. Farm hands would do this by dipping sprigs of rosemary in the Wassail bowl and then sprinkling cider on their heads - all while singing their praises.

Why Wassailing?

The word Wassail comes from the Old English ‘was hál’, meaning ‘be hale’ or ‘good health.’Another popular Wassailing tradition was house calling  - a lot like carol singers- where revellers would go from house to house, spreading good cheer by singing and offering good wishes in return for food and, more commonly, cider.

Besides copious amounts of cider, no wassail celebration was complete without a rich, hearty Wassail cake, often served warm. I’ve adapted this traditional recipe, much to the horror of actual Wassail goers by replacing cider with apple juice for a non-alcoholic version.

Non-Alcoholic Wassail Cake:

Ingredients:

• 225g eating apples (peeled and chopped)
• 110g raisins
• 110g walnuts
• 225g apple juice
• 170g butter
• 100g honey
• 4 medium eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a square tin. (or round)
• Add the raisins and apple juice to a pan and bring to the boil, simmer for a few mintues to allow the raisins to plump up before adding the apples, walnuts and removing from the heat.
• Cream the butter and honey.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder. Gradually beat in the eggs
• Fold in half the flour, then half the cider mixture. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about an hour, or until golden and firm.

Serve your moist spiced cake with a warm apple juice, cider or a cup of tea.