Coin trees , Cumbria , southeast London One form of votive offering is the token offering of a coin. Coin trees (or money trees) are found in parts of
Scotland,
Northern England, and
Wales. Folklorist Ceri Houlbrook observed actions at a coin tree in
Aira Force,
Cumbria, noting that a succession of at least twelve families passed by the site and decided to hammer coins into it using a piece of limestone lying around; she commented that this custom appeared to offer "little variation: it is imitative, formulaic, homogeneous". In 2019 the National Trust for Scotland said 'For many years people have hammered coins into tree stumps and trunks as some sort of votive offering to make a wish. On our woodland properties we could tolerate it as long as it was on a small-scale, but now it seems to have taken off as a ‘fashionable’ thing to do and is out of control.' near Ardmaddy House in
Argyll,
Scotland, a
hawthorn, which is a species traditionally linked with fertility. The trunk and branches are covered with hundreds of coins which have been driven through the bark and into the wood. The local tradition is that a wish will be granted for each of the coins so treated. • On
Isle Maree in
Loch Maree,
Gairloch, in the
Highlands is an
oak wish tree made famous by a visit in 1877 by
Queen Victoria mentioned in her published diaries. The tree, and others surrounding it, are festooned with hammered-in coins. It is near the healing well of St. Maelrubha, to which votive offerings were made, including the sacrifice of bulls, which continued up to the 18th century, according to records. • Near
Mountrath,
County Laois, is a shapeless old wish tree in the form of a
sycamore tree called St. Fintan's Well. The original well was filled in, but the water re-appeared in the centre of the tree. Hundreds of Irish pennies have been beaten into the bark as good luck offerings. • The
High Force Waterfall has a coin wish tree in the grounds of the waterfall. • A coin wish tree can be found in
Colby Woodland Garden. • A coin tree is near the
Tarr Steps in
Exmoor. • A coin tree can be found in the grounds of
Bolton Abbey. •
Ingleborough Nature Trail on the Clapham Beck in North Yorkshire has a
yew as a coin tree. • A coin tree can be found on the walk around
Tarn Hows in the Lake District. The tree has been felled and is on the west side of the tarn on the West side of the path. • A coin tree stump can be found in front of the
Fairy Glen Falls on the Black Isle of Scotland. • Many public houses, such as the Punch Bowl in
Askham, near
Penrith in Cumbria and the Old Hill Inn,
Chapel-le-Dale, Yorkshire, have old beams with splits in them into which coins are forced for luck.
Clootie trees , Ireland Small strips of cloth, ribbons or
prayer beads are tied to some trees as a healing ritual or to wish for good health. These should be material that can easily wither away. Such trees are known as "clootie trees" and are usually found growing beside
holy wells (also called
clootie wells) or at sacred sites. They are most common in Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall.
Apple tree wassail The
Apple Wassail is a traditional form of
wassailing practiced in the
West Country, England. Singing wassailers visit the
cider orchards, where they recite an
incantation, leave
wassail-soaked
toast in the tree branches, and pour cider over the roots. The purpose of the ceremony is to bless the apple trees and to ensure a good yield and good luck for the
harvest.
Shoe trees In a related cultural tradition found in many locations, including the United States, supplicants will
toss or hurl shoes into
trees that are locally designated as wellsprings of good fortune.
Nail trees There are many nail trees (called "
arbres à clous") in Belgium and other regions, and the practice is based on the ancient popular beliefs that a physical illness (one's evil spirit) could, through a ritual process, be extirpated from the body by driving a nail into these trees.
Other offerings • The
Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees are located in Hong Kong near the Tin Hau Temple in
Lam Tsuen. Two banyan trees are frequented by tourists and the locals during the Lunar New Year. Previously, they burnt
joss sticks, wrote their wishes on joss paper tied to an orange, and then threw them up to hang in these trees, believing that if the paper successfully hung onto one of the tree branches, their wishes would come true. • The sacred well of
Saint Tanew – or
St Enoch – in
Glasgow, Scotland, was much visited for cures and the old tree beside it was covered in small bits of tin-iron nailed to it by pilgrims. The offerings were shaped as eyes, feet, hands, ears, etc. depending on the cure hoped for. The saint was mother to
Saint Mungo. In Glasgow's Hidden Garden at
Pollokshields, and at the
Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland, trees have been planted onto which people can tie white labels, on which they have written their wishes. A number of wish trees have been set up to make a wish for the environment, such as at the
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Centre at
Balloch in Scotland. People make their wish for and pledge to help the environment and tie the wish label to the tree. • The
Christmas tree is often quoted as being a
pagan symbol connected with
tree worship, clearly linked with good luck achieved through offerings (decoration) to and
veneration of special trees. == Other cultural traditions ==