New Year’s Day can be a wonderful time in Wales. One of the biggest days of the year, it’s a moment when communities come together for poignantly local and traditional celebrations.
Every country has its own traditions around ushering in the new year, and Wales is not shy of showing off its own custom practices. Here are some local rites you could discover if staying at our holiday cottages for the New Year.
First Footing
The tradition of first footing places particular importance on the first person to step into your home in the new year, dictating that a dark-haired man should let in the New Year for good luck. This is a tradition in many Celtic regions across the British Isles and may date back to the Viking invasions, when the arrival of strange folk was seen as a sign of danger.
In the Welsh tradition, the man leaves the house by the back door just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, walks around, and on the strike of midnight, knocks on the front door. The house members open the door and receive salt for seasoning, silver for wealth, coal for warmth, a match for kindling and bread for sustenance from the man.
If the first visitor across a Welsh threshold was either a woman or a red-haired man, it was considered terribly unlucky for the household./
Mari Lwyd
Arguably the most renowned pre-Christian New Year tradition in Wales is the Mari Lwyd, or Grey Mare.
The Mari Lwyd is a horse’s skull covered with a white sheet and ribbons. It has false ears and eyes and was carried on a long pole covered in a sheet and decorated with ribbons.
Historically, gangs of men and youths would carry the Mari Lwyd from door to door. When a door was opened, the householder was greeted with poems and insults – in Welsh – and they were expected to reply. When the verbal battle, y pwnco, had been won or lost, the Mari Lwyd and her followers were invited inside for another drink.
In the 19th century, churches and chapels began to object to the violence and drunkenness that invariably accompanied a visit from the Mari Lwyd. Nowadays, the grey mare is usually accompanied by singing, carols and wassailing, instead of poems and insults.
Wassailing
Wassailing is a pagan tradition associated with many cider-producing regions in England, but can also be found in Welsh areas with a particular English connection, such as the South West and border towns. It is a celebration designed to bring good spirits to the orchard for the coming year and ward off evil ones.
Wassailing traditions usually revolve around a large wassailing bowl, which is filled with warm cider alongside fruits and spices. People would often sing songs and make a general racket as they travelled from the orchard through town before enjoying food and drink together.
Similar to Mari Lwyd, wassailing historically had some rowdy connotations – the Halloween tradition of ‘trick or treat’ is said to originate from wassailers who would go to lords’ houses and demand food and drink in return for moving on. However, modern wassailing tends to be about spreading cheer, with people invited to join the parade and enjoy the delicious local produce being celebrated.
Calennig
Calennig, or New Year’s Gift, was a popular custom in many areas of Wales, seen as a way of ushering in good fortune for the year ahead.
On New Year’s Day, children would wake up early and go from door to door carrying an apple or an orange pierced with three sticks and decorated with things like cloves and sprigs. They would then recite a song wishing the homeowners good luck and ask for a calennig in exchange – often things like coins or bread.
Some children would also carry cups of spring water, similarly filled with things like sprigs and mistletoe. This would then be sprinkled on the homeowner or around the house to purify them for the year ahead, in exchange for calennig.
Hen Galan
What if New Year’s Day wasn’t only on 1st January?
There are many countries across the world that celebrate New Year’s Day later in the year due to traditional calendar differences. In Wales, this is known as Hen Galan (literally ‘Old New Year’), which marks New Year’s Day according to the old Julian calendar, on 13th January.
The Gwaun Valley near Fishguard in North Pembrokeshire is renowned for its Hen Galan celebrations, with things such as Mari Lwyd and calennig taking place in mid-January.
If you’re looking for an authentic, traditional Welsh New Year, keep an eye out for Pembrokeshire holiday cottages in mid-January and make your way to the Gwaun Valley for a truly Welsh experience!
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