DSC_0053On Tuesday 31 January children from the St Chris Junior School braved the cold drizzle to take part in an ancient country wassail ritual to wake the School’s apple trees from their winter slumber.

The ceremony, led by Ralph and Joan Hentall, started with a loud procession across the playground to the trees with the children making lots of noise – shouting, singing and banging – to wake the trees up and scare away mischievous spirits who might stop the them bearing fruit.

A wassail cup of apple juice from last year’s crop was poured around the trees’ roots and juice-soaked toast was placed in their branches to feed the birds before traditional songs were sung to encourage a good harvest.

Expect a bumper crop of St Chris apple juice later this year!

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