Dr Rondel Harris opines that wassailing apple trees is probably a remnant of a very old, almost forgotten cult of the Apple God, the apple tree being the first fruit tree in England to be improved by cultivation. Witches and ghosts were believed to reside in the crown of apple trees. T.G. Crippen, an authority on Christmas lore, feels that this rustic custom reflects an agricultural society, which asks spirits of the fruit trees to bestow and bless them with more fruit. Perhaps it is also suggestive of thanksgiving of ‘fruitfulness’ of fruit trees.

Wassail is celebrated during Yule, which is ‘not a single day but a whole period of mid-winter festivity, the special time of joy and devotion to the Giver of fruitful seasons.’

Blowing of horns heralds wassail celebration. Often, kettles are beaten to make a great noise. At times guns are fired, loaded with powder only.

A group of merrymakers go to the orchards, carrying a pail or a jar or even a bowl of ale or cider containing roasted apples, sugar and toast. They stop at the largest or the most fruitful of apple trees and then toast it by sprinkling the drink all around it and sometimes by dipping a few of its’ branches in the container. cider or ale is drunk and ditties are sung, the theme being invariably, asking the tree to give more apples.

Singing songs, rather nonsense verses, is an essential part of wassailing apple trees. A popular one is

It was believed, especially in Devon and Cornwall, that tree spirits were incarnated in robins and small birds. Little boys representing these birds, climb apple trees and cry, ‘Tit-tit, I want more to eat., Then a piece of cake, cheese or bread is given to him or is dipped in cider or ale and placed in the forks of branches of the trees ‘for the robins’.

The British had other reasons to wassail apple trees. This Biblical fruit had crept into their very culture. It was an old remedy for sore eyes while Burton considered it as an aid for melancholy. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, sweet apples were smelt to regain one’s strength.

Apples are popular in India too. In Himachal an apple revolution was ushered in by the American missionary Samuel Evans Stokes which ultimately changed the face of the State’s economy making Himachal, the Apple State of India.

Undeniably, an apple culture has crept in areas where this fruit is grown. When we can revere other trees, why can’t we just have the same feeling for the apple or the plum trees? Why can’t we rave about the unique beauty of apple blossoms or even enthusiastically celebrate the joy of apple-laden branches in its harvest season? After all apples are the bestowers of the bounty of the hill folk.

The Japanese take time off to appreciate and enjoy the sheer magnificent beauty of their cherry blossoms in a festival called Hanami. Perhaps proximity to apples has made us insensitive to view them and to say, ‘Oh to be in Himachal, now that apple harvest’s here’ (with apologies to Browning).