Ffenestr Hen Galan

Old New Year window at our heritage centre, Ein Hanes (Our History)

The window's been decorated by one of our volunteers with Mari Lwyd (Grey Mare) figures made of decorated horse skulls mounted on sticks and wrapped around with white sheets. They represent an old wassailing tradition specific to some areas of Wales where the Mari Lwyd would be carried round the village to perform a call-and-response ritual at houses and pubs (for an alcoholic reward.)

Locally the Gwaun valley south of Fishguard still celebrates the 'Old New Year'  according to the Julian calendar on January 13th.

The Mari on the left is made with an authentic horse's skull and on the right a cardboard skull has been used.

(Ffenestr, Welsh for window, comes from the same Latin root as fenetre in French as I discovered to my delight when I moved from Wales, where I had been taught Welsh, to England, where I had to learn French, when I was 10 years old.)

Thre's an earlier  blip on the same topic here.

Acknowledgements to ppatrick for the photo