The 2025 Betchworth Wassail
“Here’s to thee, our apple trees!"
Late afternoon on a typical January day… the scene is set for the Betchworth 2025 Wassail: fire, flares, mulled cider and apple juice and baskets of edibles. Wassail originates in old Norse – ‘wes heill’ (similar in Old English) and means ‘to be in good health’.
Music played and the firelight flickered. The good folk of Betchworth circled up, many wearing daft hats, face paint and carrying something to make a noise with. Led by the Mistress of the Wassail, we began by welcoming in the four cardinal points and the elements and energies that come with them - an ancient ritual common around the globe.
It was then time to bless the trees. Our Mistress of Libation poured cider on to roots while the Master of Toast presented cider-spritzed toast for the children to hang on to the trees - an ancient custom designed to attract birds to the trees to eat harmful bugs. The crowd shouted out the Wassail chant, followed by ferocious roaring of “WASSAIL”, a bashing of pans, shaking of rattles and beating of drums to make sure evil spirits were thoroughly banished from the orchard.
In the fading light, flames crackled and embers glowed as warm, mulled cider and cold apple juice was enjoyed by the thirsty celebrants, along with some traditional English fare - fruit cake and cheese, shortbread, brownies and honey-glazed sausages. By 6pm our Wassail was done. The apple trees had been honoured.
Our thanks go to those who helped make it all possible: Richard, Hilary, Graham, James, Claire & Bill - thanks to Bill, we had lights in the trees this year. If anyone wants to step up, maybe we could have a barbeque next year too?
Watch out for our next Wassail – scheduled for early January 2026. We’ve planned for more cider (and better jugs!) and more daftness for the children to participate in. And do sign up to the Re-Betchworth newsletter for all the latest information about events or initiatives we have in the pipeline.
If you would like to get involved we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a line at rebetchworth@gmail.com.