GUILLEMELGAT’S CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD | Cymru (Wales)A Mari Lwyd with her retinue at St Fa

GUILLEMELGAT’S CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD | Cymru (Wales)A Mari Lwyd with her retinue at St Fagans in Cardiff (source). The Mari Lwyd is one of the most famous Welsh traditions. A ribbon-bedecked horse skull on a pole which is covered by a bedsheet, she comes knocking on doors and challenges anyone who answers them to pwnco, a rhyming battle (or sings them carols if it’s a gentler version).A Plygain service at Capel Jewin, a Welsh church in London (source). Plygain is another very well-known Welsh Christmas tradition. The Plygain service was held early in the morning on Christmas day (the word plygain is said to come from the Latin for the cock’s crow, since it began before dawn). Because it was dark in the church, the people in the village would all bring candles to light up the space.Two people singing Plygain carols at the church in Llansilin (source). Plygain services traditionally centered on the singing of carols, which would be performed a capella by one or two people. The services typically lasted until breakfast time. Many of the older carols were highly religious and almost a substitute for a sermon; modern Plygain is generally less intense. The tradition nearly died out, but several communities around Wales have maintained it for the unique singing rather than for its religious character.A woman making Welsh treacle toffee (source). The night before Christmas, it was common to gather together and make Christmas taffy, typically during the hours before the Plygain service. The taffy was made over the stove and stretched by hand, usually while talking with family and neighbors. Another tradition in some areas was to cool off the taffy by dropping bits of it into cold water and to try to figure out who someone’s future spouse would be by seeing what letters the taffy looked like it had formed.A greeting card with a song about Siôn Corn (source). The Welsh version of Santa Claus is Siôn Corn (‘[Chimney] Stack John’). The song on this card was written by J. Glyn Davies and is still commonly sung by children during Christmas concerts.A box from Pembrokeshire which would be used to hold the captured wren, decorated on the outside with ribbons (source). The tradition on Twelfth Night in Pembrokeshire—or other days during Christmastide in other parts of the British Isles—was to capture the wren, a tiny bird. The wren was considered to be bad luck, and capturing it was a way to ensure a prosperous new year.A modern group parading around the wren (source). Once captured, the wren would be brought from house to house, and people would pay to look at it within the box.A sprig of holly, like that used for older St Stephen’s Day traditions (source). Up until several centuries ago, there was a tradition on the day after Christmas (Gwyl San Steffan) of groups of young men going around and beating the arms of girls with holly branches—or, in some cases, family members beating the last person up in the morning. This tradition, needless to say, has died out.Two boys in Llangynwyd with their decorated apples, out to ask for Calennig (source). While not a Christmas tradition, the New Year’s tradition of Calennig is just as important of an occasion. Children would decorate an apple with three sticks and adorn it with hazelnut and boxwood leaves. They would then go from door to door, singing a song to wish the family good luck in the new year and asking for a gift (usually food or money). -- source link

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