The Legend of Mari Lwyd

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you’re keeping well 🙂

As the festive season unfolds, let’s take a minute to explore the ancient Welsh legend of a rapping ghost horse. That’s right, in today’s blog, we’re going to be delving into the traditional legend of Mari Lwyd.

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Mari Lwyd, meaning “Grey Mare” in Welsh, is a long-standing tradition which adds a unique touch to Christmas. It involves a skeletal horse’s skull dressed with festive decorations, being paraded through villages accompanied by lively carollers.

Mari, and its entourage, visit pubs and homes, engaging in a friendly exchange of poetic challenges known as “pwnco”. Pwnco is somewhat like a rap battle – with Mari and the house owner going back and forth about why they should or shouldn’t be let into the home.

This witty exchange continues until one of the parties runs out of responses. If Mari and her gang get entry into a home, the household is said to be blessed and have good luck for the year ahead. Although Mari is well-known for being mischievous, often trying to steal things from the houses she visits. 🏡

If the homeowner wins, then Mari and her group move along to the next house and the pwnco starts again. This continues throughout the entire village until all included houses have been visited and have their vocal parlay.

This festive season, let’s draw inspiration from Mari Lwyd to come together, have a laugh and make some great memories. Whether it’s with a horse’s head, some party games or even a chilled-out drink, the Christmas season is one for us all to enjoy with those closest to us. This year has been a very tough one for so many of us, I think a good laugh is well overdue.

Although if you see a horse’s head coming your way, then you know what to do 💁‍♂️

That’s all for today’s blog, what do you think? Have you heard of Mari Lwyd before? Do you have any Christmas traditions in your family or country? Have you got any exciting plans for this year?

I’d love to hear your thoughts ⤵️

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely day!