Christmas and New Year celebrations have changed a lot in Wales down the centuries. In this video history blogger Claire Miles (who writes the Hisdoryan blog) and history author & broadcaster Graham Loveluck-Edwards talk about the sort of Christmases our ancestors would have recognised.
We take a whistle stop tour of all things Christmassy from Welsh history. The customs and traditions people observed. Things like;
Toasting the Ox on Christmas Eve
Wassailing
The Aderyn Pig
The bird with the grey beak
The Plygain
A Tudor Christmas dinner
Calenig
The Mari Llwyd
First Footing
Hunting the wren
When Christmas was banned
The origins of Father Christmas
The very first Eisteddfod
The Abergavenny Christmas Massacre
We also look at some amazing Christmas stories like Mallt-y-Nos’, Megan’ the Gwrach-Y-Rhibyn of St Donats and the sitings of the Cwn Annwn in the Vale at this time of year.
We also cover a whole host of ancient Welsh superstitions based around the festive period. Things that would bring you good and bad luck, ways to find love, to be sure of a good harvest and those ever fearsome portents of doom. To be fair most of them are predictors of death, but Some of them will have you laughing hysterically.
We really hope you enjoy this video. And if you do, feel free to share it on social media. But remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel as well. This programme was originally recorded for broadcast on Bro Radio. Click to play the video. First broadcast on Bro Radio.
Read more about Welsh festivals and traditions in my books.