THIS month we’ve been battered by severe Atlantic winds that have caused a great deal of damage.
Though hardly to be welcomed, it’s probably better to have this kind of weather now rather than later.
Several old folklore sayings warn of the consequences of a mild, bright month.
This one speaks for all: “In January, if the sun appear, March and April will pay full dear. If January calends be summerly gay, it will be winterly until May.”
Notice that there’s no mention of February. That month’s weather is foretold by the previous October, which last year was wet and mild. The old weather prophets say that this means a cold February, so don’t rush to pack away the winter woollies.
Another saying warns us to be wary: “As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens.”
This is true, because January sunlight is too weak to do much good. And by now the seas around Britain have lost their stored warmth, which normally takes the sting out of any cold winds passing over them.
The coldest time of all the year was said to be St Hilary’s Day on January 13. This probably came about because of an unusually severe frost across England in 1205.
In those times they were using the Julian calendar.
So if we allow for the 11 days that were skipped in 1752 when we adopted the Gregorian calendar, the old St Hilary’s Day would equate to our January 24.
Whether that reasoning is correct or not, it explains why those curiosities, the “old” festive days, turn up in the calendar of customs.
Foula, a small island west of Shetland, still celebrates Old Yule on January 6. So New Year’s Eve falls on January 12, as it does for the communities of Cwm Gwaun, near Fishguard in Wales.
In England January 17 is Old Twelfth Day. This gives us another chance to clear away the decorations, if we haven’t got round to it yet. But some say that greenery should be left up right through the season of Christmas, which means picking up fallen holly leaves until Candlemas on February 2.
WAKE THE TREES
Old Twelfth Day is the last of several days for wassailing apple trees, a custom that almost died out early in the last century. In the last 50 years there have been many successful revivals.
Today we think of wassailing as belonging only to cider-apple orchards in the West Country. It used to be carried out elsewhere in England, and with other trees such as pear, plum, or cobnut.
Cows and oxen used to be wassailed too for the same reason, to bring luck and encourage good health in the coming year. Typically the wassailers enter the orchard after dark, and gather around the oldest tree. After a blast from a horn there’s a short speech and the traditional song, of which there are many local variations:
“Old apple tree, we wassail thee, and we hope that thou wilt bear. For the Lord doth know where we shall be, come apples another year.
“If you bloom well and you bear well, it’s merry we shall be. Let every man take off his hat, and shout out to the old apple tree.”
After the singer has finished the first verse, everyone shouts: “Old apple tree, we wassail thee, and we hope that thou wilt bear hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls, and a little heap under the stair.”
The crowd cheers and makes a great noise by banging pans or firing shotguns to wake up the trees, and scare away anything that might blight the fruit.
A bucket of mulled cider or ale is produced and shared with the tree by pouring some over its roots.
Toast soaked in cider is hung in the branches. This is for the birds that help the trees by searching for harmful insects and their eggs.
The toast floating in the wassail bowl explains how we came to “toast” someone with a drink.
Drinking the old year’s ale while looking forward to the months to come celebrates the turning of the year.
If you’re lucky enough to have a fruit tree, take a glass into the garden and sing the old song to your tree.
The neighbours will love it, and your reward will be a fine crop come autumn.