#wassailing

[breebird33]

"Let me in, let me in!"

Mari Lwyd for this year's holiday card~✨

[the-honeyed-offering]

Wassalia? No cause why is Sofia the First serving our Pagan princess agenda?

[adventuresofalgy]

Although there is some dispute about whether the festival of Twelfth Night should be celebrated on the 5th or 6th January, in Algy's world Twelfth Night falls on the 5th, and all Christmas decorations vanish on the following day.

So Algy decided that he would like to see his assistants' Christmas tree one last time before it melted away into the cold mist of January, as he intended to revel in the final mirth and jollity of the festive season, although of course with the intent of parting "from hence, as free from offence, as when ye innocent met here."

And Algy hopes that if you too celebrate this festival with "cakes full of plums" or other delicious treats, and "drink to the base from the brink" – or even indulge in a wee bit of wassailing – you will do the same 😀

With mirth and joliity to you all:

      Now, now the mirth comes       With the cake full of plums, Where bean's the king of the sport here ;       Beside we must know,       The pea also Must revel, as queen, in the court here.       Begin then to choose,       This night as ye use, Who shall for the present delight here,       Be a king by the lot,       And who shall not Be Twelfth-day queen for the night here.       Which known, let us make       Joy-sops with the cake ; And let not a man then be seen here,       Who unurg'd will not drink       To the base from the brink A health to the king and queen here.       Next crown a bowl full       With gentle lamb's wool : Add sugar, nutmeg, and ginger,       With store of ale too ;       And thus ye must do To make the wassail a swinger.       Give then to the king       And queen wassailing : And though with ale ye be whet here,       Yet part from hence       As free from offence As when ye innocent met here.

[Algy is quoting the poem Twelfth Night, or King and Queen, by the 17th century English poet Robert Herrick.]

Footnote to explain the poem: A popular Twelfth Night tradition was to have a bean and pea hidden inside a Twelfth-night cake. The man who finds the bean in his slice of cake becomes King for the night while the lady who finds a pea in her slice of cake becomes Queen for the night. Following this selection of King and Queen, Twelfth Night parties would continue and would include the singing of Christmas carols, as well as feasting.

[thechemistryset]

An Edwardian Mari party engaging in the Pwnco

[now-winter-comes-slowly]

Cicely Mary Barker

[bluntshavingrazor]

People are often familiar these days with the Mari Lwyd (Y Fari Lwyd in modern Welsh, roughly translating as 'Grey Mare'), but this is actually only one of a number of traditions involving rural towns across Britain being harassed by a singing animal skull. Other creatures in this group include The Broad of the Cotswolds, the Hooden Horse of Kent, Old Tup of the East Midlands, Old Ball of Lancashire and, to a lesser level of relevance, Láir Bhán of County Kerry (a region of Ireland in this case and included solely for additional context). All of these traditions, despite being found in various different regions, all derive from the same event where a collection of genuine skeletal animals escaped captivity from the Other Realms and began to pester humans for food. All the escaped entities were later captured by the fae authorities, or Faethorities, and returned to their homes. It is believed that all cases of skeletal horses singing at people since then have been imposters; if a genuine skeletal creature is sighted hassling people in their homes then it is recommended to inform the Faethorities via the nearest stone circle or mushroom ring so they can come and collect them. If an imposter creature is sighted, and the humans behind the deception are being particularly obnoxious about it, it's recommended to call the Faethorities anyway. They promise to return the perpetrators by the next lunar cycle, after having taught them a valuable lesson.

More Fun Facts

[leasthaunted]

Episode 147: In The Horse Mouth of Fadness

It's the holiday season! Time for incomprehensible traditions and seasonal fads. The sort of annual things that make one say, "How the hell did that get started?" and "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Well today we are going to talk about just such a tradition. Mired in the mysterious mists of time, folklore, and possibly alcohol. Do you hear the jingle of bells? Do you hear a rhyming verse outside your house? Are you in Wales? If so, it might not just your average carolers... It might just be Mari Llwyd.

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Enjoy the episode images below!

This is one version of Mari Llwyd with a horse skull.

A Mari Lwyd ca. 1904

A Mari Lwyd from the mid 19th century

The Mari Lwyd is always led around by a well dressed gentlemen.

A "Hooden Horse" from Kent. Similar to Mari Lwyd, but not a horse skull.

The origin of Mari Lwyn and other similar traditions most likely come from the fad of Hobby Horses in the 16th and 17th centuries. Here a painting of Morris Dancers from 1620 features a dancer in a "Tourney Style" hobby horse.

A stained glass window depicting Morris Dancers and a Hobby Horse. Note the mention of "May". Hobby horse traditions could occur at multiple times of the year. Mari Lwyd is associated with the winter solstice, Christmas, or new years eve in Wales, but other hobby horses make appearances on May Day, or the summer solstice.

Nor is the tradition restricted to Britain. Here are hobby horses from Catalonia in Spain. And it is from Spain that hobby horses most likely galloped into the rest of Europe.

The spread of hobby horses came at a time when there was interest amongst European nobles in all things Moorish. The Morris Dance was directly a reference to the Moors. And the presence of hobby horses with Morris Dancers further establishes this connection.

[sharpescontainer]

So found a 1977 BBC documentary about Wassailing narrated by John Tams AND has the Albion Band music and I’m here like

(His voice sounds so different when he was young!)