Samaria is usually a calm and slow-paced town, though several times a year it becomes a busy center of activity.  2023 saw many visitors at annual events such as the Baby Animal Show and Renaissance Faire, Samaria Days, the Heritage Harvest Festival, school education days, and other calendar highlights.  2023 ended with the addition of what will hopefully become a tradition, the observance of Welsh holiday traditions related to both Christmas and New Year.  

“Nadolig Cymreig” means “Welsh Christmas,” and the Heritage Square in the middle of Samaria presented a series of decorated and interactive cabins introducing visitors to some of the traditions and customs from the old country.  The historic cabins that create the perimeter of the historic square were set up as a series of learning and visiting stations, where volunteers were stationed to present the materials to those who made their way out into the seasonal cold.   

“Calennig” is a Welsh tradition somewhat similar to Trick or Treat in practice, though it has been associated specifically with New Year for hundreds of years.  Donna Whipple explained the history of the tradition, and how to prepare an apple in the Welsh fashion.  The apple is taken from house to house in the hopes of receiving small gifts and songs from neighbors during the New Year and Christmas time.  

Famed Welsh poet and fantasy writer Arthur Machen described the tradition this way in the biography “The Pleasant Lord of Gwent”: “When I was a boy in Caerleon-on-Usk, the town children got the biggest and bravest and gayest apple they could find in the loft, deep in the dry bracken. They put bits of gold leaf upon it. They stuck raisins into it. They inserted into the apple little sprigs of box, and they delicately slit the ends of hazel-nuts, and so worked that the nuts appeared to grow from the ends of the holly leaves ... At last, three bits of stick were fixed into the base of the apple tripod-wise; and so it borne round from house to house; and the children got cakes and sweets, and-those were wild days, remember-small cups of ale.”

While the concept of door to door visiting and caroling is not unusual to most of us, another related tradition might be a bit more unfamiliar.  “Mari Lwyd” is a uniquely Welsh aspect of the Christmas tradition, involving a person  costumed with an animal skull.  The phrase “mari lwyd” is of unclear origin, as even expert native speaker linguists disagree on whether it derives from a connection to “Holy Mary” or “Grey Mare,” which are both possible derivations.  The custom involves a group of singers going from house to house in the countryside, knocking on doors and requesting entry through song.  The homeowners would refuse the group entry with a song of their own, and the two groups would go back and forth until, usually, the group would be let inside for refreshment and continued song.  

The group would include costumes of different kinds, but always the mari lwyd itself, which is created by placing an often decorated horse’s skull to a stick and attaching it to a hood or cloak covering its holder.  In Samaria, Victoria, Camilla, and Hannah Anderson played the role of the homeowners, and Caroline Whipple stayed costumed as the mari lwyd.  The group sang to visitors, accompanied by the cello.  

Caroling is another holiday element commonly associated with Welsh custom and tradition.  Another room in the cabin was set up with a film of a Welsh version of “Jingle Bells,” which is called “Ting-a-ling.”  The song may seem simple, but as Travis Whipple explained, “just try to get it out of your head the rest of the day.”

Moving through the cabins set up for the Nadolig Cymreig, guests would next find Alivia Waldron with a video presentation of Welsh Christmas traditions, recounting many of the sights on display in Samaria, as well as some additional ones that may be added down the road.  The importance of song was emphasized, and indeed was present through the tour.

Firepits, a common sight in Christmas traditions, invoked the bonfires around which communities gathered during communal celebrations, marked the path from the cabins to the wassail.  In addition to providing welcome warmth and lighting the way, one of these fires also included materials to fashion an ornament from tin, in recognition of mining’s connection to Wales.

Toffee Evening, or “Noson Gyflaith,” refers to the practice of visiting homes during the holiday weeks for food, games, storytelling, and toffee making.  Tammy Benson and others were stationed in the kitchen cabin to distribute taffy and tell stories.  The kitchen served as the primary cooking locations for numerous family members over the years it was in use, and some of that legacy remains in the warm and cozy gathering place, just perfect for a winter’s tale.  

The song or story that was told to visitors was rotated throughout the weekend, but one selection was a reading of “Taffy was a Welshman.” The poem is a traditional English nursery rhyme that was most popular between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, and was most often sung by English children in counties bordering Wales.  While the poem itself is a little deprecatory of the Welsh, the name “Taffy” was often used by the English to refer to someone from Wales in a neutral way, in a similar way to the use of “Jerry” for Germans in the United States during the same time period.  In any case, the poem is a good example of the relations between England and Wales in the nineteenth century when many of Malad’s founders immigrated to this country.  

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief;

Taffy came to my house and stole a leg of beef;

I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy was in bed;

I took the leg of meat and hit him on the head.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief;

Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef;

I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy wasn’t in;

I jumped on his Sunday hat and poked it with a pin.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a sham;

Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of lamb;

I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy was away;

I stuffed his socks with sawdust and filled his shoes with clay.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a cheat;

Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of meat;

I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy was not there;

I hung his coat and trousers to roast before the fire!”

The tour ended with wassail, a traditional hot drink made from fruit juices and spices.  Cherrie Higley met visitors at the end of the tour to provide a warming mug of wassail or hot chocolate, a great tradition in any culture!

The Nadolig Cymreig weekend was sponsored by the Oxford Peak Arts Council, Ed Thorpe and the Malad Valley Dental Clinic, Hess Pumice/ Hess NAPA, Kenneth Tooke of Northwestern Mutual, Oneida Family Dental, Hess Lumber, ATC Communications, Nell J. Redfield Memorial Hospital, Thomas Market, Nielsen Plumbing, LLC, as well as a number of volunteers and supporters.  Luke Waldron expressed his hope that the event would continue to grow over the next years, and maintain the important connection to Welsh history that marks many of the efforts of the Heritage Square project.