There are many different traditions people have over Christmas to celebrate, but there’s one particular ritual that’s known as one of the eeriest of Welsh cultre
The traditional Welsh ritual is one of the ‘eerier’ of Christmas traditions (
Image: Robert Melen/REX/Shutterstock)
Christmas time comes with many different traditions all over the world, as different countries have their own take on the festive season. But one thing always happens – people coming together over good food and making memories.
But there are some traditions that may be a little more surprising than others, and there’s one close to home that’s raised eyebrows across the world.
Wales is a country rich in culture and as well as superstitions, but one festive tradition may appear a bit more morbid to some. The folk custom entails the use of a horse’s skill, which is mounted on a pole hidden under a cloth and carried through the streets. The figure is known as Mari Lywd.
The Mari Lwyd tradition started in the 1800’s in South Wales
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Image:
Robert Melen/REX/Shutterstock)
Known as one of the eeriest of traditions in Wales, locals once paraded the undead horse decorated with ribbons, streamers or holly and ivy around their villages. The tradition, thought to be Celtic, was first recorded in 1800 as people dressed in characters such as Punch and Judy take to the streets. Those carrying the Mari Lwyd would sing a song while knocking on residents’ doors and request entry, or food and drink, through song.
The name is said to either mean “Grey Mare” or “Grey Mary”. Grey Mare gives the name as a nod to Celtic horses and British mythology, whereas Grey Mary gives a nod to the nativity story where a pregnant horse is searching for a stable to give birth to her foal.
“Mari is taken around a village traditionally, often between Christmas Day and Twelfth Night, She is dressed with festive lights and decorations, and is usually accompanied by an ostler, and in some regions like Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valleys, other folk characters like a jester and a Lady,” the official Wales.com website reports.
It’s said that if Mari gets an entry, the household she has entered will have good luck for the rest of the year. However, Welsh Methodists and other Christian non-conformists criticised the Mari Lwyd in the 19th century and it started to die out and only a few Mari processions were left by the 1960s in places such as Pencoed near Bridgend and Pentyrch near Cardiff.
However later in that century, “Llantrisant Folk Club revived the tradition, as did a family in Llangwynyd near Maesteg, who still visit the Old House Inn in the village with their Mari today: three generations of landlords have now hosted them.”
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