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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
35
"Rejoice
not,
oaks;
Rejoice
not,
green
oaks.
Not
to
you
go
the
maidens;
Not
to
you
do
they
bring
pies,
Cakes,
omelettes.
So,
so,
Semik
and
Troitsa
[Trinity]!
Rejoice,
birch
trees,
rejoice,
green
ones!
To
you
go
the
maidens!
To
you
they
bring
pies,
Cakes,
omelettes."
The
eatables
here
mentioned
probably
refer
to
the
sacrifices
offered
in
olden
days
to
the
birch--the
tree
of
the
spring.
With
this
practice
we
may
compare
one
long
observed
in
our
own
country,
and
known
as
"wassailing."
At
certain
seasons
it
has
long
been
customary
in
Devonshire
for
the
farmer,
on
the
eve
of
Twelfth-day,
to
go
into
the
orchard
after
supper
with
a
large
milk
pail
of
cider
with
roasted
apples
pressed
into
it.
Out
of
this
each
person
in
the
company
takes
what
is
called
a
clome--i.e.,
earthenware
cup--full
of
liquor,
and
standing
under
the
more
fruitful
apple
trees,
address
them
in
these
words:
"Health
to
thee,
good
apple
tree,
Well
to
bear
pocket
fulls,
hat
fulls,
Peck
fulls,
bushel
bag
fulls."
After
the
formula
has
been
repeated,
the
contents
of
the
cup
are
thrown
at
the
trees.[29]
There
are
numerous
allusions
to
this
form
of
tree-worship
in
the
literature
of
the
past;
and
Tusser,
among
his
many
pieces
of
advice
to
the
husbandman,
has
not
omitted
to
remind
him
that
he
should,
"Wassail
the
trees,
that
they
may
bear
You
many
a
plum
and
many
a
pear;
For
more
or
less
fruit
they
will
bring,
As
you
do
them
wassailing."
Survivals
of
this
kind
show
how
tenaciously
old
superstitious
rites
struggle
for
existence
even
when
they
have
ceased
to
be
recognised
as
worthy
of
belief.
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