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Theatre Trips – “Billy Elliot” is coming to the
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A STEP BACK IN TIME
Seasons and
Festivals
It is always pleasant to hear
from people who have
enjoyed my Diary articles. It
has again happened this time
regarding my recent account of
how Christmas was celebrated
in times gone by. Long chats
with my German friend Lore
and my Polish friends Alicja
and Ela convinced me that
Christmas Eve was far more
important in their countries
than Christmas Day itself when
celebrating the festive season .
On that day people in Germany
spend the afternoon decorating
the Christmas tree, preparing
traditional dishes and in Lore’s
childhood making dolls and
other toys and presents. In
the evening a fish meal is
often preferred to meat and
is eaten with boiled potatoes
and salad. In Poland fish is
also a favourite dish and part
of the excitement for children
is the appearance of the first
star in the sky when they shout
“The star has come”. Then the
Christmas meal takes place
followed by the exchange of
presents. Another custom I
found appealing was that of
placing some straw under the
tablecloth as a reminder that
Jesus was born in a stable.
Also a few people contacted
have me to ask which is the
correct time to take down the
decorations after Christmas
and the New Year have been
celebrated. I will try to answer
that query when I come to
the festivities associated
with January. I will hopefully
surprise readers by telling
them about Old Christmas Day
that was celebrated in parts of
Wales on January 6th. Finally,
I have been told an amusing
story by a friendly neighbour
that relates to my recent
article on superstitions. He
had bought as a young man a
smart, dark green suit for his
wedding only to be told by his
mother to take it back to the
Cardiff Store. This was because
it, being green, was considered
to be unlucky!
Since the Diary will be printed
prior to January 1st I will begin
with New Year’s Day and the
customs associated with it. In
a recent article I mentioned
the superstitions linked to the
end of the old year and to the
beginning of the New, some of
which were of Scottish origin.
But there are many more that
were believed by people all
over the country. Superstitious
folk opened their windows just
prior to midnight to let out bad
luck and allow good fortune
in. To ring in the New Year
was observed by most village
churches probably as a means
of telling people without clocks
and watches when the New
Year had arrived. Usually it
was deemed lucky to witness
a dark man first on New Year’s
Day and fortuitous to receive
a lump of coal. Strange to
tell it was considered unlucky
in Pencoed near Bridgend
to see a ginger-haired man
first on New Year’s Day. On
a more practical level it was
considered important to pay
one’s debt before the New Year
came in. One New Year’s Day
superstition I like is the one
when the last person to drink
the last drop of wine or beer
from a bottle will have good
luck throughout the year. It is
difficult to warm to the topic
of New Year’s Resolutions
because within a short time
we have usually broken them.
But the idea of making a fresh
start is as old as the Romans.
They apparently made more
promises at this time to Janus,
their god, after whom the
month of January is named.
In Medieval times knights
affirmed their commitment
to a chivalrous life, while we
moderns make half hearted
promises to improve our lot.
Less seriously we attend the
New Year’s Eve parties that
includes the counting down,
second by second, till midnight
and end with the singing of
“Auld Lang Syne”, a poem
written by the immortal Robert
Burns (1759-1796). Talking of
counting down I was reminded
of a Spanish custom by my
friend Ela, mentioned earlier.
She told me that in Barcelona
she learnt of a very interesting
custom. As the church bells
rang, peal by peal, just after
midnight, people would eat
grape after grape to welcome
in the New Year.
There are many more New Year
customs that were prevalent
in 19th century Wales that
have sadly died out. It was
thought necessary in some
places to make as much noise
as possible to frighten away
evil spirits. Now we simply
let off fireworks! Other
interesting customs included
“the sprinkling of water” and
the collection of the “calennig”.
These were practised in South
Wales right up until the end
of the Victorian Age. In the
former custom lads went
around the houses carrying
bowls of water freshly drawn
from the local well. They
sprinkled anyone they met
in the street and this was
supposed to portend a year of
good luck. They then entered
most people’s houses and
sprinkled water throughout
each room and even over those
still sleeping! For this they
were given sums of money that
by the end of the day made it
a profitable venture. We today
think giving presents to be a
feature of Christmas, yet in
earlier times it was New Year
that was the time of giving
gifts! One custom was called
the collecting of the calennig
and, like the water sprinkling
custom, it began before dawn
and ended at midday. Groups
of children went from house
to house carrying an apple
decorated with a sprig of
holly, nuts, oats, raisins and
flour. The children than sang
a song asking politely we
hope for food or money. They
then wished each family good
fortune throughout the coming
year. Silurian, the Bridgend
journalist, who died in 1939,
clearly remembered boys
and girls in Tonyrefail taking
decorated oranges rather than
apples to houses in the village
to wish those inside a happy
New year. These same people,
like many others, celebrated
Christmas Day on January 6th
as a result of the changes to
the Calendar in 1752. Most
residents “paid up”, but older
folk , who clung tenaciously to
the old calendar dates told the
children to return on Old New
Year’s Day, namely January
12th.
Readers have asked me
to explain the custom of
wassailing, which was
celebrated in many parts of
Wales and beyond on Twelfth
Night. Participants would
bake a large cake and add
apples, sugar and warm beer
and place the ingredients into
a large, specially made bowl
called “the wassail bowl” that
had a dozen handles. Young
people would take the wassail
to different houses both near
and far and sing outside each
door. Just as in the Mari Lwyd
custom, mentioned last time,
verses were sung alternatively
by the revellers and those
inside. Farmers were also
visited and in song and verse
the wassailers wished them
healthy livestock and a good
hay and corn harvest. In
some of the wassail songs are
references to the Virgin Mary,
so it is likely that the custom
dates back to pre-Reformation
times. Later the activity, like
the Mari Lwyd, became an
excuse for a drink outside
and free hospitality indoors.
I have often wondered why
there were so many “begging
customs” observed at this time
of year. They were tolerated,
if not encouraged, by society
because starvation was a real
possibility. Also wassailing
and the Mari Lwyd did enable
neighbours to visit one another
to express good wishes, have
a good time en route, sing
harmless doggerel and enjoy
genuine hospitality from the
better off in the season of good
will.
Twelfth Night, that is January
6th, was celebrated differently
in some parts of England. A
large loaf cake was baked and
a pea and bean was placed
inside it. When the cake was
equally sliced, whoever got
the pea was chosen Queen
and whoever got the bean
was chosen King-and they
were both treated regally
throughout the revel. Readers
will I’m sure be interested
to know that in 1563 in a
Twelfth Night ceremony held
in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh
the ill-fated Mary Queen of
Scots was pleased that Mary
Fleming, her Lady in Waiting
was chosen as Queen of the
Bean. Attired in jewels and
royal garb she took precedence
even over her beloved
monarch for the whole of the
night. In the Vale of Glamorgan
a similar celebration of Twelfth
Night was practised. A big loaf
cake was prepared for the
Epiphany and the assembled
gathering would divide up
the cake amongst Jesus, the
Virgin Mary, the three wise
men and those present. A
King and Queen were chosen,
but instead of peas and beans
they had to find a ring hidden
inside the cake. Many people
today believe that January 6th
( Twelfth Night) is the day that
the Christmas decorations and
cards should be taken down,
for otherwise it is considered
unlucky, but in the distant
past they were taken down
on Plough Monday (the first
Monday after the Epiphany) ,
or even later towards Lent. I
was friendly with a Bridgend
clergyman, who being a good
traditionalist, never removed
decorations and Christmas
continued overleaf.....