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• well-dressing
  well-dressing

  noun

  (in parts of rural Britain) a traditional ceremony of decorating wells with flowers in thanks for the blessing of an abundant supply of pure water.
• well dressing
  well dressing

  noun

  the decoration of wells with flowers, etc: a traditional annual ceremony of great antiquity in some parts of Britain, originally associated with the cult of water deities

well-dressing

American  

[wel-dres-ing] / ˈwɛlˌdrɛs ɪŋ /

noun

1. (in parts of rural Britain) a traditional ceremony of decorating wells with flowers in thanks for the blessing of an abundant supply of pure water.

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well dressing British  

noun

1. the decoration of wells with flowers, etc: a traditional annual ceremony of great antiquity in some parts of Britain, originally associated with the cult of water deities

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Other Word Forms

• welldresser
  noun

Example Sentences

An annual well-dressing festival with roots believed to date back as far as the 14th Century has returned to an English village - this time, with a Ukrainian theme.

From BBC • May 27, 2022

Here she came with the other children, at the festival of the well-dressing, to spread their garlands around it, and sing, and cat their supper on the green.

From The Valley of Vision : a Book of Romance an Some Half Told Tales by Van Dyke, Henry

Pins, nails, and rags are still offered, and the custom of "well-dressing," shorn of its pagan associations and adapted to Christian usage, exists in all its glory at Tissington, Youlgrave, Derby, and several other places.

From Vanishing England by Ditchfield, P. H. (Peter Hampson)

In our own country may be mentioned the well-dressing of Tissington, near Dovedale, in Derbyshire, the wells in the village having for years past been most artistically decorated with the choicest flowers.

From The Folk-lore of Plants by Dyer, T. F. Thiselton (Thomas Firminger Thiselton)

Here she came with the other children, at the festival of the well-dressing, to spread their garlands around it, and sing, and eat their supper on the green.

From The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France by Van Dyke, Henry