VILLAGERS at Appleton Thorn, Warrington, turned back time at the annual Bawming the Thorn ceremony which dates back to medieval times.
Pupils from Appleton Thorn Primary School performed the traditional Bawming the Thorn Dance.
Other youngsters dressed in fancy dress as pupils danced around the Bawm tree,
which has origins dating back to the days of the crusades.
Each June, the
village hosts the ceremony of “Bawming the Thorn”. The current form of the
ceremony dates from the Nineteenth Century, when it was part of the village’s
“Walking Day”.
The ceremony stopped in the 1930’s, but was later revived by
the then headmaster, Mr. Bob Jones in 1967.
“Bawming the Thorn” occurs on the
Saturday nearest to Midsummer’s Day.
“Bawming” means “decorating” – during
the ceremony the thorn tree is decorated with ribbons and garlands.
According to
legend, the hawthorn at Appleton Thorn grew from a cutting of the Holy Thorn at
Glastonbury, which was itself said to have sprung from the staff of Joseph of
Arimathea, the man who arranged for Jesus’s burial after the Crucifixion.
For more pictures from the event click here http://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1526
