Wassailing apple trees (1927)

GAUMONT GRAPHIC NEWSREEL (REUTERS)
To license this film, visit www.britishpathe.com/video/VL...
Crowd drinking cider and dancing at an apple tree wassailing in West County
Full Description:
SLATE INFORMATION: Wassailing Apple Trees.
ENGLAND: Devon and Somerset:
EXT
Video Roll Title: Wassailing apple trees at Whipple, Devon: 310ft
WHIMPLE: Wassailing apple trees
singing to trees, evil spirits, drinking, sprinkling, Wassail
Background: Crowd drinking cider and dancing at an apple tree wassailing in West County
FILM ID: VLVAUV9QIS8ILJD6S7BT4JTSE8MS
To license this film, visit www.britishpathe.com/video/VL...
Archive: Reuters
Archive managed by: British Pathé

[@PeteHemington]

Amazing old footage

[@jimmydodger4622]

This is fantastic footage. We make cider in North Somerset and still wassail the trees and it's not that different. Just lacking the aprons!

[@SharonJackson13]

Wondering about the direction of the dancing at different times in the celebration....sunwise sometimes widdershins other times. Can you tell me anything about that?

[@jimmydodger4622]

@@SharonJackson13 I don't know I'm afraid. We normally do a few laps of the tree in both directions but I never thought about out the significance.

[@dianamccleery3352]

@@SharonJackson13 Now... I'm just guessing off the top of my head, but it seems like, as wassailing is a blessing, the sunwise makes sense. But every blessing is also a dispersal of the unwanted; a blessing is a curse to the malevolent. So the widdershins also makes sense, especially in light of firing guns for the same purpose. also, on a practical level, it's also less boring that way. ;-) My great grandfather was from Somerset, and I have wassailed the apples when I have had a tree. We moved several years ago, and our little tree is setting fruit! So now I really will have to get down to it every year. ;-)

[@SharonJackson13]

Sometimes they are going sunwise, other times Widdershins....would love to know more about this ritual.

[@dionysusapollo]

Incredible, I so want to do this

[@teabibber]

very cool!!!!

[@jamestremlett9491]

Dear Pathé, could you please rename this video as ‘Whimple Wassail 1927’ as that would be very helpful to Whimple History Society. Whimple Wassail is still going strong, every 17th January.

[@HYSTERIA-we6fg]

It's just another e cuse for a piss up 🤣people really did believe in all manner of strangeness back then

[@cn-pr4qm]

And they still do..a big event in Somerset.

[@dianamccleery3352]

And what's wrong with that? ;-) Always good to have a reason for a party.