There’s a tradition around this time of year in parts of Wales that starts with an ominous knock at the door in the winter night… and it only gets spookier from there.

This is known as the Mari Lwyd, and while I’m no expert, it sure seems a lot like the goth offspring of two of the UK’s folk traditions.

One is the tradition of wassailing, where in the old days beggars would go from house to house in the hopes that someone might fill their mugs with the warm and boozy concoction.

The other is the mythical pale horse that can pass between our world and the underworld.

So Mari Lwyd, which sometimes translates to “Grey Mare,” is a procession of people and/or characters who go from house to house with a horse skull on a pole.

It’s got a cloak, glass baubles for eyes and other decor.

At each door, this bunch may sing songs to the residents, with the ghostly horse trying to steal stuff and chase people all the while.

Or they might have an improvised and often foul-mouthed rhyming poetry contest with the inhabitants, sort of like a 19th century rap battle.

And the horse skull pole is usually rigged in a way so that the Mari Lwyd can talk and sing (!)

Team Mari Lwyd gets to enter the house if it wins the rhyming contest, and since it’s considered good luck to have the Mari in your house, they usually get to win.

Then everybody has a little bit to eat and drink before the procession sings a farewell song and moves on to the next house.

The tradition has had its critics; not everyone thinks of a horse skull home invasion as the height of entertainment.

Oh, hello, wandering horse skull, come in and have a drink with me!

But like so many other traditions that take place when days are at their shortest, this is a chance to take something that might be scary or mysterious and turn it into fun for the whole community.

So, really, there’s nothing wrong with taking time at the end of the year for some horsing around.

Flowers Tree GIFfrom Flowers GIFs

If the holidays have got you feeling harried, how about a little time to commune with nature?

Tree.fm is a website that features the sounds of forests from around the world, so that you can quote “escape into nature, and unwind wherever you are.”

Though if you’re actually in the middle of a forest, you might want to save the sounds for someone else.

The midwinter majesty of the Mari Lwyd (Wales.com)

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