Mari Lwyd
By AmberLynn
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
United States
December 12, 2018 9:38pm CST
I probably wrote something about this before, I feel like I have. Does anyone fancy a challenge? A rhyming game? Sure, that sounds fun, right?
Well, what if you are trying to best a horse skeleton? Doesn't sound as pleasant does it?
It's a Welsh Tradition, South Wales as far as I am aware. It's traditionally done around Christmas or News Years but can be done around Halloween as well.
A person dazzles up a horses skull with holiday decorations and then drapes themselves in a sheet and carries the skull around. They call out to a house with the challenge and the occupants must respond and try to beat Mari Lwyd in the challenge.
The tradition pre-dates Christianity, and so "Mari Lwyd" can be translated as "Gray Horse", or in later years, as "Holy Mary"
More Info can be found here:
3 people like this
3 responses
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
13 Dec 18
It is a bit macabre. I kind of believe it pre-dates christianity myself.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
13 Dec 18
@LadyDuck Yes, people believed very differently than we do today.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502573)
• Italy
13 Dec 18
@ScribbledAdNauseum It is surely a very old tradition. There are many old traditions that are a bit macabre.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
15 Dec 18
Well now you have, so you can't say you haven't.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
15 Dec 18
@Karenmm I like to try to learn something new everyday.
@RasmaSandra (98033)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 Dec 18
Thanks for sharing that is very strange and unusual.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
13 Dec 18
It's just another weird tradition. There are plenty. Cutting faces into gourds to scare away bad spirits etc etc etc.
I love learning about this kind of stuff.
1 person likes this
