Fire, feathered hats and foot stomping: there’s nothing like a traditional wassail in proper cider country. It’s the perfect antedote to the post-Christmas doldrums, and I actually look forward to it more than the anticlimactic revelry of New Year’s Eve.

Every year on 6 January at 7pm, the Leominster Morris Men – festooned with patchwork coats, holly and pheasant feathers – congregate at a Herefordshire pub and hand out flaming torches to spectators before leading them on a raucous procession to a nearby orchard.

Once there, an entrancing and time-honoured ritual takes place. The morris men soak pieces of toast in cider and place it on the fork of a tree, then they sprinkle cider on the roots. Once they’ve lit the Herefordshire lantern – representing the sun reborn – and a ring of 12 pyres, they sing a soul-stirring rendition of the wassail song (always gets my neck hairs a-quivering) and hand out local scrumpy for all to make merry. Afterwards, it’s back to the pub for a mummer’s play and a singsong with a folk band. And more cider, of course.

The location of the wassail is kept a secret until the day before the event – and even then you can only found out where it is by word of mouth or via social media. The only thing you can be sure of is that it’s a Herefordshire pub within walking distance of an orchard. And seeing as Herefordshire is filled with orchards and pubs, it doesn’t narrow it down very much! Good luck finding it – it’s definitely worth the hunt. Just don’t forget to wrap up warm.

Images courtesy of Andy Stevenson & James White on Flickr