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First wassailing event for community orchard

BBC Jamie wears a top hat with feathers sticking out the top and a coat with purple, orange and yellow ribbons hanging from it. He wears purple face make up over a beard and black sunglasses.BBC
Jamie Sage said it was good to keep the ancient tradition going

A community orchard in Hornsea held its first wassailing event earlier.

The centuries-old tradition involves blessing fruit trees ahead of spring.

Sharon Rawdon, who organised the ceremony, said she hoped it would ensure "a good crop of apples" for Hornsea's community orchard.

Attendees wore bright clothes and banged on pots and pans – an age-old custom meant to scare off evil spirits.

Ms Rawdon wears a black cloak with an owl on it. She has a purple jumper underneath and bright-purple, long hair, which is kept off her face with a pink hairband. She wears glasses and is smiling.
Ms Rawdon said she was keen to revive "old pagan traditions"

Ms Rawdon said the ceremony was "about the community coming together after a cold, long winter" to "celebrate the coming of the next year".

The orchard is looked after by Home Grown Hornsea, a community group that grows food locally and runs a market.

About 100 varieties of apples are grown there, including the town's own Hornsea Herring.

There are also pears, plums, damsons, cherries, medlars and quince, among other fruits.

Tracey wears a coat with a large fur collar and a green mask. Kim wears a deer mask on the top of his on his head and carries a stick with yellow and orange ribbons. They both hold percussion instruments.
Tracey and Kim Dent-Brown wore masks to represent the green woman and the golden stag – spirits of the forest

Tracey Dent-Brown wore a green mask to the event, representing a female version of the green man – an ancient symbol of the coming of spring.

"This is a brilliant thing to do at this time of the year," she said. "It's a really ancient practice to wake up the land, to wake up our energy."

A group of people in brightly coloured clothers gather round a wooden circular table in the middle of an orchard. Bare trees stand on all sides.
The ceremony is designed to bless the orchard

The event, which traditionally took place on Twelfth Night, also involves a ritual of soaking toast in cider and leaving it around the roots of trees for the spirit of the orchard.

One older resident who attended the ceremony said it was nice to meet people and have a "little nip of the cider" as well.

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