18th December 2025 - some Welsh traditions and Googly Eyes

Thought for the day: "Scientists created a dolphin with legs. Animal rights groups want the legs removed but I think that would defeet the porpoise"

Wet

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Nadolig: Welsh Folklore at Christmas 🔥🐴

Christmas in Wales wasn’t just a day - it was a season, when music, poetry and dance were everywhere.

Celebrations stretched for weeks before and after 25 December, full of games, song and performances that linked villages together.

Bands of waits, or carol singers, patrolled towns and villages, sometimes competing in lively rivalries, while morris dancers paraded with torches, and bards recited tales of old.

Ancient Fire and Solstice Traditions 🔥🌿

Some Welsh Christmas customs recall much older traditions. In parts of Glamorgan, multiple fires were lit in a circle with a central blaze representing the Virgin Mary. Livestock could be “blessed” with cakes placed on their horns, and these rituals connected the winter solstice, the sun’s rebirth, and what some interpret as older Druidic ideas beliefs to Christmas merriment.

The Yule Log 🔥

Families saved a piece of last year’s log and burned it with the new one on Christmas Eve - old fire meeting new. It was thought to keep witches away and protect the house through winter. But beware: if your shadow cast by the Yule log had no head, you wouldn’t see another year.

Plygain – Carols at Dawn 🎶

The word plygain means “cockcrow” - the moment Christ was born. At 4 a.m. on Christmas morning, churches blazed with candles, and following a short service, carols were sung in harmony.

Fortune-Telling and Omens 🔮

Ladies looking for love should pour melted lead into cold water on Christmas Eve — it will take the shape of your future husband’s trade. A bright Christmas meant full barns; a cloudy one, hunger.

Mari Llwyd 🐴

The Mari Llwyd is traditionally celebrated from the days after Christmas through to Hen Galan (Old New Year, 13 January). A horse's skull on a pole, draped in ribbons and bells, was led by a rowdy group from house to house. They challenged households to a battle of rhymes and insults, and if they gained entry, you’d better have beer and cakes ready. Some say the skull symbolised death itself, and it was even called the Marw Llwyd (Grey Death) by some; others claim it honoured the Virgin Mary, with Mari being Welsh for Mary.

Aderyn Pig Llwyd – The Grey-Beaked Bird 🐦

The Aderyn Pig Llwyd, a smaller, mischievous cousin of the Mari Llwyd, also went door to door. A horse’s skull on a pole, decorated with ribbons and tinsel, was carried by a man in a fantastical robe, with a groom keeping it in check. The “bird” would kick, rear, and curvet, performing antics for laughter and contributions, accompanied by men bearing burning brands.

In other news...

Let the shenanigans commence!

Maya need better glue - one fell off in the rain ...

Talking of rain - a wet walk today ..

TillyVision

Cheers