The Mari Lwyd

Welsh Mysteries and Histories

Send us a text

The Mari Lwyd is a symbol of Welsh mythology and it's a tradition that is now recognised around the world. In this episode, Mags discusses the Mari Lwyd, what we know about it's origin and how the tradition continues today.
Corresponding blog post -
Where you can find us?

For more information on the podcast and the hosts, make sure you check out this link.

Follow us on Instagram - @welshmysteries, as well as via our individual profiles ( @kaycpage and @mags.cross).

Follow Kay on Twitter - @kaycpage.

Work with us?

If you have a particular case that you would like us to cover, please feel free to contact us via the email below.

We are also open to discussing business and sponsorship opportunities via this email.

Both hosts have access [e-mail].

Sources
BBC (2011) Tradition of the Mari Lwyd - BBC Cymru Available at https://youtu.be/G_xFo6Hifzk?feature=shared(Accessed December 11, 2023)

Broster, H. (2019) The tradition of the Welsh Christmas horse skull: Mari Lwyd in Dinas Mawddwy - We learn Welsh. https://welearnwelsh.com/blog/welsh-christmas-horse-skull-mari-lwyd/. (Accessed: December 1, 2023)

Castleton, D. (2023) 5 Really weird Christmas Folkloric customs. https://www.davidcastleton.net/strange-christmas-folklore-customs-mari-lwyd/ (Accessed: December 1, 2023)

Christmas Traditions: The Mari Lwyd (June 14, 2014). https://museum.wales/articles/1187/Christmas-Traditions-The-Mari-Lwyd/ (Accessed: December 1, 2023)

Folk Songs – Roy Saer and folk song collecting at St Fagans (no date). https://museum.wales/collections/folksongs/?id=2(Accessed: December 1, 2023).

Http://www.folkwales.org.uk/mari.html (Accessed: December 8, 2023)

Howell, David ORCID: 0000-0002-7875-1002 (2018) Contemporising Custom: the re-imagining of the Mari Lwyd. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 13. pp. 66-79.

Ifans, R. (2022). Stars and Ribbons: Winter Wassailing in Wales. University of Wales Press

ITV News (2022) '‘No music on a dead planet’ - New Mari Lwyd mural urging climate change action appears in Cardiff,' ITV News, 30 March. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2022-03-30/mural-depicting-the-mari-lwyd-appears-in-cardiff-city-centre. (Accessed December 8, 2023)

Mentrau Iaith (2020) https://youtu.be/r3aXbGl5UQ4?feature=shared

Owen, T.M. (1959) Welsh Folk Customs. National Museum of Wales, J.D. Lewis and Sons Ltd, Gomerian Press, Llandysul

Peate, I.C. (1935) '88. A Welsh Wassail-Bowl: With a Note on the Mari Lwyd.,' Man, 35, p. 81. https://doi.org/10.2307/2789906.

Price, S. (2023) Mari Lwyd and the appropriation of Welsh mythology. https://nation.cymru/opinion/mari-lwyd-and-the-appropriation-of-welsh-mythology/. (Accessed December 12,2