The world of folklore is a diverse, thriving mix of ancient traditions, old gods, strange beasts and curious tales.
Every land has their own folk traditions, and while some themes are universal, each has something special about them that makes them unique.
Join stand-up comedian, writer, and folklore PhD candidate Dan Mitchell as he dives into the dark oceans of folk, hoping to find a never before found denizen of the deep. Featuring exclusive interviews with academics, folklorists, scientists, poets, magical practitioners, and many more special guests from around the world, Uncommon Folk hopes to unearth the bones of folklore and resurrect them with incantations long forgotten.
From deep dives to short nuggets, Uncommon Folk will enlighten, enthuse, and entertain the folk community.
Experience the magic and wonder of a Welsh Christmas like never before as we unravel the captivating tradition of Plygain. Imagine the early hours of Christmas morning, where candlelit processions weave through village streets and into churches, transforming them into vibrant spaces of devotion and celebration. This journey into the heart of Welsh tradition offers an insightful look at how these ancient rituals continue to capture the essence of Christmas, blending joy, community, and faith in celebration.
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Speaker 1:
Plugine Now. Plugine is a very traditional Welsh Christmas service and it takes place between three and six o'clock in the morning in a church. Traditionally, that's Christmas morning. Now Plugine was one of the only services in the church calendar to be held at night time and it involved a lot of candles, a lot of carrying of candles, and a procession leading to the church was a very big part of it. Its roots lie in pre-Christian celebrations, as they often do, but this is very much a church celebration.
Speaker 1:
There was carols, were sung and it was customary for anyone who claimed themselves to be a bard and Wales is full of bards they had to compose a carol. A poet was not considered a poet until he could sing a carol considered a poet until he could sing a carol. In rural areas often they couldn't get through the church all the time or they would gather together beforehand sometimes and they'd gather in local farmhouses to make a trickle toffee called Kavlaith. In the 1830s in Marford they decorated the farmhouse with winter foliage such as holly or mistletoe. And in 1774 in Dufferin Cloyd they lit the candles at two o'clock in the morning and sang and danced to harp music until the dawn service. Now you can see that that's very much. The singing and the dancing in particular is very much not a Christian thing. That's come from the pre-Christian rituals there.
Speaker 1:
Now in towns, the more populated areas, such as Temby crowd, started the evening with a torch-lit procession. The young men of the town would escort the local priest from his house to the church while the rest of the procession sang, and they blew cow horns as well. So it was very much a celebratory, sort of like festival feeling to it. Similar events have been recorded in Llan and Llanfellin all over in fact. Now candles were very much part of this Plugine. Candles were lit throughout the church during the service. They were decorated with colour paper and hoops woven by the congregants, and some parishes would attach them to brass candlesticks on the altar. Before plug-in began In Dolgellai, for example, the inside of the church was decorated with holly and coloured candles mounted in chandeliers.
Speaker 1:
Now the ceremony has been described as follows Now the church is in a blaze, now crammed body aisles gallery. Now Sean Robert, the club-footed shoemaker, and his wife, descending from the singing seat to the lower and front part of the gallery, strike up alternately and without artificial aid of pitch pipe, the long, long carol and old favourites describing the worship of kings and of the wise men and the flight into Egypt and the terrible wickedness of Herod. The crowds are wholly silent and wrapped in admiration. Then the good rector and his curate, david Poo, stand up and read the morning service abbreviated, finishing with a prayer for all conditions of men and the benediction. Restless and somewhat surging is the congregation during prayers, the rector obliged sometimes to stop short in his office and look directly at some part or persons, but no verbal admonishment.
Speaker 1:
Prayers over the singers began again. More carols, new singers, old carols in solos, duets, trios, choruses. Then silence in the audience, broken at appropriate pauses by the suppressed hum of delight and approval. Till between eight and nine, hunger telling on the singers, the plug-in is over and the bells strike out a round peal. Now you can tell by that description. It was a lot livelier than a lot of church services usually were. There was an element of celebration in there, and the fire, the holly, the decorations, they all come from pre-Christian rituals.
