HUNDREDS OF LANTERNS BRIGHTEN A WINTER AFTERNOON

Tree Dressing at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Sunday 4 December

The annual Tree Dressing event at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, in Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex, is a fascinating and unusual celebration for all the family of the life-giving properties of trees. The day’s finale as darkness falls is a wonderful procession and spiral dance around two magnificent aspen trees, which are dressed with hundreds of candle lanterns made by our visitors during the afternoon.

 

 

With its origins in the Green Man legends and other ancient customs celebrating the life-giving properties of trees and the natural world, the Tree Dressing event enables visitors to enjoy and join in traditional songs, dances, plays and stories about trees and the countryside. Children and indeed visitors of all ages are invited to make a lantern during the afternoon (bring a jam jar!) which is then lit for the final procession. The lanterns are hung in the aspen trees making a spectacular display of colour and light to brighten a winter afternoon on the Museum’s beautiful site in the South Downs National Park.

Tree Dressing has been greatly enjoyed by our visitors for many years, and is a wonderful opportunity to experience how we are keeping alive the traditions of our rural past for future generations to appreciate. There will be performances by a choir called ‘Whispering Woods’ who will sing beneath the trees in the Museum grounds. Younger visitors are well catered for, not only with lantern making, but also headdress making and other seasonal activities.

The Museum is open from 10.30am on December 4, with the Tree Dressing event starting at 12.30pm. Visitors wishing to make a lantern should aim to arrive before 2.30pm in order to participate in the final procession which closes the day and which starts at 3.45pm. Admission prices are adults £9.50, over 60’s £8.50, children £5, family ticket £26, under 4’s free. The Museum is open daily throughout the winter until 23 Dec, plus daily for ‘A Sussex Christmas’ from 26 December – 1 January 2011 from 10.30am to 4pm. From 2 Jan it is open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only until half term activity week which commences on 13 February, after which it is open daily for the rest of the year. Opening times are 10.30 to 6pm during BST, 10.30 – 4pm for the rest of the year.

Background information

The award-winning Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits and is designated by the Government for the outstanding importance of its collections. Exhibits include a medieval farmstead; a working watermill producing wholemeal stoneground flour; exhibitions focusing on traditional building techniques and agriculture; historic gardens, farm livestock and a working Tudor kitchen. The Museum runs a well-established schools programme, and an adult learning programme of courses in building conservation and rural crafts. There is a café which uses the Museum’s own flour and a shop with gifts and books on countryside and buildings themes. The modern Downland Gridshell houses the Museum’s building conservation centre and artefact collection; there is a daily tour at 1.30pm when the Museum is open, and an appointments system for visits to the collections for research purposes.

14.11.11