1 / 8

Looking at customs...

Explore the fascinating customs of Wales, including Plygain (early morning Christmas singing), Wassail (drinking from a festive bowl), Calennig (New Year trick-or-treating), and Hunting the Wren (paying to see a caged bird). Discover the origins, significance, and your thoughts on these traditions.

lchristina
Download Presentation

Looking at customs...

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Looking at customs...

  2. What do you think a custom is?

  3. Can you think of any customs that happen... in Wales? around the World?

  4. Plygain Calennig Welsh Christmas and New Year Customs... Hunting the Wren Wassail

  5. Calennig This tradition is centuries old and happened all over Wales. Calennig was a form of ‘trick and treat’ that happened at New Year. From dawn until noon on New Year’s Day, groups of boys went from door to door. They carried three legged totems, chanted rhymes and splashed people with water. The totems were hopes of a good crop in the coming year. They asked for calennig (gifts of small change) before moving on. What are your thoughts about this custom? Can you make your own 'Calennig' totem? Back

  6. Plygain The tradition of Plygain happened very early on Christmas Day morning. Men would gather in rural churches to sing. The songs were sung in three or four part harmonies and without music. The service would sometimes go on for three or more hours. The tradition still goes on in parts of mid Wales. What are your thoughts about this tradition? Can you find examples of songs sung at Plygain? Back

  7. Wassail This is a tradition that went hand-in-hand with Mari Lwyd and other Christmas get-togethers. In the early 20th Century, people in Wales drank from a wassail bowl as part of their Christmas celebrations. These bowls were often elaborate, ornate and many-handled. The bowl was filled with fruit, sugar, spices and topped up with warm beer. As it was passed around, the drinkers would make a wish for a successful year's farming and a bumper crop at harvest time. What are your thoughts about this custom? Why do you think it used to be so popular (but not so much now)? If you could decorate your own bowl, what would you decorate it with? Back

  8. Hunting the Wren On Twelfth Night in Wales, groups of men would go out Hunting the Wren. The tiny bird was caged in a wooden box and carried from door to door. Householders would pay a small amount of money to look at the wren in the box. What are your thoughts about this custom? Do you think it would be popular today? Back

More Related