The famous Thorn tree at Appleton Thorn village, South Warrington, England dressed for the annual June "Bawming the Thorn"

Preparing the famous Thorn tree at Appleton Thorn village, South Warrington, England for the annual June "Bawming the Thorn" Appleton Thorn is a village in the borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. 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". It involved children from Appleton Thorn Primary School walking through the village and holding sports and games at the school. This now takes place at the Village Hall. The ceremony stopped in the 1930s, but was later revived by the then headmaster, Mr. Bob Jones in the early 1970s. "Bawming the Thorn" occurs on the Saturday nearest to Midsummer’s Day. Local schoolchildren dance around the tree. "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.