LAWRENCE: Wassailing the trees at Terhune

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Holding pieces of bread soaked in cider, the two young boys ran over to a gnarled apple tree and hung the bread on a branch.
   ”We’re going to make magic,” Sharon Navarro told her 6-year-old son, Ian Navarro, and his friend, Milo Nelson.
   That “magic” is encouraging the trees in the orchard to make apples in the spring — all part of the old English tradition of wassailing the trees.
   The Navarro family was joined by dozens of other visitors to Terhune Orchards, which held its 15th annual “Wassailing the Apple Trees” Sunday afternoon at the farm on Cold Soil Road.
   ”Wassail” comes from “was hail,” which is medieval English for “good health.”
   During the middle ages in southern England, groups would travel from orchard to orchard to wassail the apple trees, awakening the cider apple trees and scaring away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest. Bread dipped in cider was hung on the trees as a gift to the tree spirits.
   Fast-forward several centuries ahead to Terhune Orchards on Sunday.
   There, visitors sang songs and chanted a prayer to the spirits of the orchard — “Spirit of the orchard, spirit of the land, bless this place so beautiful and grand. Keep it safe from unseen evil and blight, through long winter days and cold winter nights. Great spirit of the orchard, great spirit of the land, a spring rebirth we beseech of you, and a healthy harvest season, too.”
   Spurred on by Terhune Orchards staffer Elaine Madigan, the visitors yelled and banged on bells and assorted noisemakers handed out by Terhune Orchards staff to scare away any evil spirits that might be lurking among the trees.
   ”We have to get that force field out. They are running away scared,” Ms. Madigan said, urging the crowd to make more noise.
   ”Now, we need to seal the deal,” she said.
   That meant dipping pieces of bread in cider and placing them on the trees to ward off the evil spirits. One by one, the visitors picked up a chunk of bread from a basket and soaked it in the cider. Everyone found a tree branch and hung it on the tree.
   In between wassailing the trees, the Handsome Molly Dancers entertained the crowd. Dressed in black and with black or green paint on their faces, the group performed several dances — by themselves, and also with visitors.
   The dance tradition arose during the mid-1800s in England, when out-of-work ploughboys would go from house to house, offering to dance for money or beer, said Sue Dupre of Lawrence, who is a co-founder of the Handsome Molly dancers.
   If one of the gentry refused to pay them in money or in beer, that landowner might find a burrow ploughed through his yard, Ms. Dupre said. The ploughboys painted their faces to escape detection by the landowners, who otherwise would not hire them to work in the fields.
   For those seeking warmth against the biting wind that whipped across the open fields, there was a small bonfire near the apple orchards. There were plenty of marshmallows to toast, although a few of the more adventurous visitors opted to toast doughnuts instead.
   Over at Terhune Orchards’ farm store, Spiced Punch — the musicians, not the libation — also entertained visitors. Dressed in 19th-century garb, the four-member group played traditional tunes. They accompanied themselves on guitar, penny whistle and concertina, which is a small, accordion-like instrument.
   Meanwhile, Ms. Navarro and her son enjoyed wassailing the trees. Although they live in Helmetta, they are frequent visitors to Terhune Orchards — mostly during the summer months, she said. They had never attended the Wassail the Apple Trees event.
   ”This is right up my family’s alley,” she said. “We try to teach the children that spirits come in many different ways. It’s a way of being one with the earth. It’s magical, in a way.”
   Well, perhaps for the Navarro family.
   ”I want to toast more marshmallows,” said Milo Nelson.