Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau (English: "Mary's Festival of the Candles") is a Welsh name of Candlemas, celebrated on 2 February. It was derived from the pre-Reformation ceremony of blessing the candles and distributing them to be carried in a procession. However, just as this Christian ceremony drew on pagan festivals connected with the coming of the Spring, some of the old practices that carried on in parts of Wales until the 20th century suggest older rituals.
Customsedit
As with most of the festivals of the year, rites of divination were carried out at Candlemas. In one recorded instance, it was customary for people to light two candles, and place them on a table or high bench. Then each member of the family in turn would sit down on a chair between the candles and take a drink out of a horn goblet or beaker. Afterward, they would throw the vessel over their head and if it fell in an upright position, the person who threw it would live to reach very old age; if it fell bottom-up, the person would die early. That 'drink', usually beer, was associated with Candlemas.
The custom of wassailing involved wishing for fertile crops and an increase of livestock in the coming year for those who provided the wassailers with ale. Like the ceremonies in Ireland for St Brigit's day, the early Spring was the time to ensure protection and fertility for the crops and animals. If the sun shone on the altar on Candlemas Day, it was thought that there would be an abundant harvest the following year. However, if a single crow was seen hovering or circling over a house on the eve or day of Candlemas, it was considered unlucky.
The period of time when working by candlelight was allowed, due to it being the dark part of the year, was amser gwylad, the time of keeping vigil. The candle was then handed back on 2 February when the light had increased enough for candles to be dispensed with and the farm animals to be fed before dark.
Wood, Hilaire (1999). . Celtic Well. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
Trevelyan, Marie (1973). Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales. Wakefield: EP Publishing.
January 01, 1970
gŵyl, fair, canhwyllau, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, mar. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau English Mary s Festival of the Candles is a Welsh name of Candlemas celebrated on 2 February It was derived from the pre Reformation ceremony of blessing the candles and distributing them to be carried in a procession However just as this Christian ceremony drew on pagan festivals connected with the coming of the Spring some of the old practices that carried on in parts of Wales until the 20th century suggest older rituals Customs editAs with most of the festivals of the year rites of divination were carried out at Candlemas In one recorded instance it was customary for people to light two candles and place them on a table or high bench Then each member of the family in turn would sit down on a chair between the candles and take a drink out of a horn goblet or beaker Afterward they would throw the vessel over their head and if it fell in an upright position the person who threw it would live to reach very old age if it fell bottom up the person would die early That drink usually beer was associated with Candlemas The custom of wassailing involved wishing for fertile crops and an increase of livestock in the coming year for those who provided the wassailers with ale Like the ceremonies in Ireland for St Brigit s day the early Spring was the time to ensure protection and fertility for the crops and animals If the sun shone on the altar on Candlemas Day it was thought that there would be an abundant harvest the following year However if a single crow was seen hovering or circling over a house on the eve or day of Candlemas it was considered unlucky The period of time when working by candlelight was allowed due to it being the dark part of the year was amser gwylad the time of keeping vigil The candle was then handed back on 2 February when the light had increased enough for candles to be dispensed with and the farm animals to be fed before dark References editThis article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message Owen Trefor M 1994 Welsh Folk Customs Gomer ISBN 978 0 86383 347 2 OCLC 1076201711 Wood Hilaire 1999 Imbolc in Wales Celtic Well Archived from the original on 17 January 2012 Retrieved 10 February 2008 Trevelyan Marie 1973 Folk Lore and Folk Stories of Wales Wakefield EP Publishing Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau amp oldid 1134437353, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
