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Some Welsh customs and the dates associated with them

1st/12th January
Dydd Calan
The Welsh name for New Year's Day. The church celebrated Dydd Calan on 12th January until 1752 when the Gregorian calendar was introduced to Britain. Since then this day has been celebrated on January 1st. Even so, to this day, numerous areas continued to celebrate Dydd Calan on different days. Before the time of the Romans, this night was one of Wales' fire festivals and was celebrated across the Celtic world.

Celtic people believed that life was a continuous circle and that rebirth followed death. This is why evergreens are used today to decorate during this season and why the Mari Lwyd (the decorated skull a horse) comes back to life on this night, and is paraded through some Welsh villages.

Another New Year's Day custom was that of calennig. In many Welsh villages, the boys would knock on people's doors carrying three legged totems, singing rhymes and splashing people with water. This was done to elicit a small gift of loose change from the people of the house.

25th January
Dydd Santes Dwynwen
Saint Dwynwen is the patron saint of Welsh lovers. The 25th of January is the Day of Saint Dwynwen when Welsh lovers send cards to each other. Dwynwen was the daughter of Brychan, king of Wales during the 5th century. She was known to be beautiful, religious and pure.

A man called Maelon fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. Even though it's said that Dwynwen loved him, she rejected him because she wanted to become a nun. In a dream, she took a potion which saved her from his attentions but this resulted in him turning to ice. She knew Maelon loved her so she prayed that he be restored to life. Dwynwen then became a nun and went to live on Llanddwyn Island.

1st March
St David's Day
This day in 589 AD is known as the traditional date of the death of St David, the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop who became the archbishop of Wales. He was one of many early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of western Britain.
Dewi was born near Capel Non (Non's chapel) on the south-west Wales coast near the city of St Davids. We know a little about his early life. He was educated in a monastery called Hen Fynyw, his teacher being Paulinus, a blind monk. Dewi travelled on religious missions and established several churches.

A well-known story of Dewi's life is when he stood up to speak at a congregation. One of the crowd shouted, 'We won't be able to see or hear him'. Then, the ground he stood on rose so he could be seen by everyone.
He's known to have lived for over a 100 years and was buried in the grounds of his own monastery, where the Cathedral of St. David now stands.

1st May
Calan Haf
In Wales, the first day of May is known as Calan Mai or Calan Haf, which means the first day of summer. The celebrations would start on the evening before on May Eve with bonfires. The tradition of lighting Midsummer bonfires happened annually in south Wales until the middle of the nineteenth century.

31st October
Calan Gaeaf
Calan Gaeaf is the name for the first day of winter in Wales. Winter Eve is called Nos Calan Gaeaf or Ysbrydnos. It's the time of the year when spirits come to life. Families lit bonfires on Calan Gaeaf. Stones would be placed in the fire with the names of the family members on them. The superstition was that each person whose stone was missing the following morning would die within the year.
There would also be tales of a spirit of a black sow with no tail which is called yr Hwch Ddu Gwta in Welsh. It was known that this black sow would be present in the area on Winter Eve with a headless woman.

24th/25th December
Nadolig
There are lots of Welsh customs which are practiced around Christmas time (Nadolig). Taffy, the making of special toffee shapes, was carried out on Christmas Eve. The method of cooking the toffee caused it to twist into curly, letter-like shapes. These toffee shapes were then used for the divination of future loves.
Plygain, a church service sung by the men, would be carried out on in the dark hours of Christmas morning. No doubt this was done after a fair amount of wassailing. A festive drink made of fruit, spices, sugar and warm beer, drunk from an ornate wassail bowl. Drinking from the wassail bowl entitled the drinker to make a wish for good luck.

Customs associated to getting married in Wales have some common and surprising themes such as capture, kidnap and hide & seek!
A playful and celebratory invasion of the bride's house by the bridegroom and his friends was quite common, and is still practiced in some rural parts. It was common for the bride to disguise herself when the groom and friends came to kidnap her from her fathers' house on the wedding day. The bride would often dress as an old lady knitting in the corner, or nursing a young baby boy (the young boy was a sign of good luck.)
This was preceded by the groom's party trying to gain entry to the locked house. Like the Mari Llwyd tradition at Christmas, a battle of verse between the people on either side of the door ensued before the groom was allowed in. There was much merriment when he discovered his disguised bride.
Once they got to the church the father and relatives would then make a mad dash with the bride as the groom's party gave chase. The groom would return the bride to the church where the service would continue as normal.
The chase theme was also seen in Welsh 'walking weddings.' These happened in times when horse riding was more common. They continued as it declined, being done on foot instead. The wedding procession would walk or ride to the church, with bride and her escort at the front gradually speeding up and away from the rest of the party. The whole party would then give chase, including the groom. In a twist on throwing the bouquet, whoever caught the bride would be sure to marry. Once the commotion of the chase had finished, the group would solemnly enter the church.
The bridegroom was also subject to capture and kidnap on the eve of the wedding. This is a practice common today in a different form, as the typical stag night. Part of this custom involved the bridegroom hiding from his captors, and a three-shot salute with a shotgun.

Flowers play an important part in the wedding customs of Wales. It was common for a Welsh bridal bouquet to contain myrtle, which was seen as a symbol of love. In another twist on the throwing of the bouquet tradition of modern weddings, the bridesmaids would be given a cutting of myrtle by the bride. They would plant them and, if they blossomed and grew, that bridesmaid would soon marry.Welsh bridal bouquets in the 18th century would commonly contain pansies, roses of all colours but yellow, maiden blush, prickmadam, lady's fingers and prickles. Heather was carried for good luck and ivy for fidelity.

A spray of flowering yellow gorse was also thought to bring good luck to the couple and red clover bloom would be strewn in front of the bride to encourage her to be industrious.
The bride and groom would often be led by chains made of evergreens and, before the times of rice and confetti, flowers would be thrown over them. Roads leading up to the church from the bride's house were often decorated with herbs and rushes and colourful bunches of flowers in lovers' knots. This floral decoration continued through the church to the altar.
On being married, but before signing the register, it was customary for the bride to kiss his wife and then salute his mother-in-law, whilst his brand new wife would receive a big hug from her new mother-in-law. With the custom done they would leave the altar to sign the register.
If the wife wanted to be the master in the marriage it was customary for her to buy something before her husband. As they were led away from the church they would be stopped to pay a wedding toll, which the husband would pay. That was not considered as buying something though, so as soon as they got to the house, the bride would quickly buy a pin from one of the bridesmaids to make sure she was the master for life! And may I add has been buying ever since !!

Hunting the Wren
Another Welsh custom associated with Twelfth Night. A group of young men would go out into the countryside to capture a wren (the smallest bird in the British Isles). The bird would then be placed in a small, decorated cage or bier and carried around from house to house and shown in exchange for money or gifts of food and drink (if a wren could not be found then a poor unfortunate sparrow would have to undergo the ritual).

Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
It was the last day upon which feasting, drinking and merriment could take place before the solemnities and fasting of Lent began. On this day, the last supplies of butter and fat were made into pancakes (crempog). Naturally, plenty of eggs were used as well, and woe betide the unfortunate hen that failed to lay before noon. It was a custom in the country districts to "thrash the hen," the poor creature being taken out to the village green or large pasture and buried in a hole in the ground with only her head sticking out. Blindfolded youths would then try to hit the hen with a stick. If anyone succeeded, the hen would become his property, to be killed on the following day and cooked and eaten with the proper ceremony.

Sul y Blodau (Sunday of the Flowers)
Palm Sunday is known in the Welsh-speaking districts of Wales as Sul y Blodau, for on this day it is the custom to decorate the graves in the churchyards with beautiful and fanciful flower arrangements as a preparation for Easter, the festival of the Resurrection. After the darkness and drabness of winter, as well as the solemnity of Lent, it was also the time to put on new clothes. Graves are often cleaned, weeded, and whitewashed before being decked with garlands of such plants as rosemary, rue, crocuses, daffodils and primroses in fanciful displays and patterns. Sul y Blodau is also the name given to a well-known Welsh lullaby, based on a poem by "Eifion Wyn" in which the death of a younger brother, Goronwy Wyn, is lamented by his mother.

Y Groglith (Good Friday)
Various customs are associated with Good Friday in Wales. Some of the more well documented ones come from the town of Tenby, in Southwest Wales. Here, business of every kind was totally suspended on this day, with no horse or cart (and very few people) to be seen on the streets at any hour. People also walked barefoot to church, so as not to "disturb the earth" the sacred burial ground of Christ. On the same day, also in Tenby, the custom was long held of "making Christ's bed." A quantity of long reeds was gathered from the riverbank and woven by young people into the shape of a human figure. The woven "Christ" was then laid on a wooden cross and left in a quiet part of a field or pasture to rest in peace.

Llun y Pasg (Easter Monday)
Hills and mountains have played a great part in the observance of Welsh customs throughout the centuries and the festivities on Easter Day are no exception. In many parts of the country, the celebrations for this most joyful of days begins before sunrise with a procession to the top of the nearby mountain. Crowds of people climb up to the highest point in the area to watch the sun "dance" as it rises through the clouds in honor of the resurrection of Christ. In Llangollen, in the Vale of Clwyd, villagers used to greet the arrival of the sun's rays on the top of Dinas Bran (a location famous for its inclusion in many medieval Welsh folk tales) by dancing three somersaults. Nowadays, a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain is sufficient celebration.In other areas, a basin of water was taken to the top of the nearest hill to catch the reflection of the sun "dancing" on the horizon. Another favorite spot in Northeast Wales for this Easter festivity is still the summit of Moel Fammau, in the Clwydian hills.

Birth Customs
Expectant mothers in many parts of Wales had to be very careful what they did before the baby was born. For example, if she stepped over a grave, it was believed that the baby would die soon after birth or would be still-born. If she dipped her hands into dirty water, the child would grow up having coarse hands. If the child was born under a new moon, it would grow up to be eloquent in speech. If born at night, it would be able to see visions, ghosts and phantom funerals. During the christening ceremony, if the baby held up its head, it would live to be very old. If, however, it allowed its head to fall back or to rest on the arm of the person holding it, the child would die an early death. At some christening ceremonies, specially designed drinking glasses were used to consume prodigious amounts of liquor in toasts to the newly baptized infant. (to be fair, it has to be remembered that it is only in this century that most of the water supplies in Wales have become fit to drink, and beer was always not only considered a safe drink, but was also thought to confer strength).

Other Welsh Customs
The giving of hand-made wooden love-spoons to one's sweetheart (or intended lover) seems to be a peculiarly Welsh custom, though the custom of presenting various wooden articles as gifts was widespread in many countries of Europe from the end of the 17th century. In Wales, the wooden articles took the form of intricately decorated spoons, given by the suitor as a prelude to courtship and a token of his interest. Like the making of the rush candles on Pilnos, the carving of love spoons from a single piece of wood became a special pastime enjoyed by the peasantry in the long, idle winter months. As in many other customs, the eating of food seems to have a lot to do with the choice of a spoon as a gift. The practice of using a particular utensil to eat led perhaps to the spoon's being chosen, first for its utilitarian use, but then as a symbol of a desire to help one's lover. No longer to be used for eating, the spoons were given long handles and could be hung on the wall as reminders or as decorations. Elaborate patterns and intricate designs began to proliferate, and Welsh love spoons began to appear in every conceivable size and shape, and in different kinds of wood. Many produced today are made by a number of craftsmen anxious to show off their skills and imagination. Some of the designs can be interpreted as follows: two bowls sprouting from one handle signifies "we two are united;" keys or keyholes mean "my house is also yours;" an anchor signifies that the donor has found "a place to stay and settle down" and so on. Many spoons are carved with a swivel or chain attachment with the number of links showing the number of children desired. Naturally, many spoons were given as Valentines, and have the heart or entwined hearts motif; some have initials of the lovers. Some were made as puzzle spoons, with captive spheres or balls being carved in the handles. The finest display of love-spoons is now on permanent display, along with their history and areas of manufacture, at the Welsh Folk Museum, St. Ffagan.