For most nations on Earth, the devastating impact of Covid-19 scuppered all New Year celebrations
National lockdown ruined any chance you had of being packed into an overcrowded pub. There was no singing, no dancing and certainly no Jagerbombs being necked with people you’re only vaguely familiar with.
But for one village in Pembrokeshire, Wales, December 31st 2020 was as muted as it is any other year.
Cwm Gwaun is a quiet community some five miles south of Fishguard. It would never strike you as anything out of the ordinary.
With a 180-year-old pub, trove of listed buildings and a population of just over 300, you could be anywhere in West Wales outside the typical holiday hotspots.
Cwm Gwaun is a little bit different, however.
The villagers do not celebrate New Year on December 31st / January 1st. For its 300 or so inhabitants, New Year’s Day will instead occur almost a fortnight later.
Happy New Year to the residents of the Gwaun Valley 🥳 Discover more about this ancient valley👇https://t.co/L6gDJpHj1P
⚠️ For now, travel is not permitted to or from #Pembrokeshire, but we will continue to share inspiration for future visits.#VisitPembrokeshireLater#stayhome pic.twitter.com/igS9WbXGjg— Visit Pembrokeshire 🏴 (@VisitPembs) January 13, 2021
By this point, you will be well clear of your December 31st hangover. It’s also statistically when most New Year fitness resolutions start falling apart.
But for the people of Cwm Gwaun, it’s typically a day of great celebration – as January 13th signals the start of their New Year.
Speaking to JOE, Swansea University historian Martin Johnes explained why residents of Cwm Gwaun celebrate New Year’s Day on January 13th.
He said: “Unhappiness with the changes made by Parliament to the calendar in 1752 were not uncommon across Britain.”
In 1752, Britain and its empire ditched the old Julian calendar, which had been in use since the days of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.
Its replacement was the Gregorian calendar – which we still use today.
These changes were met with hostility, Johnes said.
There was some religious opposition, because the changes were felt to be Catholic, and in making September shorter people felt as if 11 days were being taken away from them unjustly.
“This was partly because people did not understand the changes and how time could be ‘changed’,” Johnes said.
“One consequence of the unhappiness was some communities celebrating festivals such as Christmas and New Year and the accompanying rituals ‘late’.”
The view looking over Cwm Gwaun. (Credit: ceridwen)These New Year celebrations are called Hen Galan, Welsh for ‘old New Year’.
The day – January 13th to most people – begins when children in the village go door-to-door singing and wishing residents a Happy New Year. In return, they are often given ‘Calennig’ (a New Year gift), which usually takes the form of sweets or money.
Later on in the day, residents congregate in The Dyffryn Arms. Here, villagers work together to cook a meal for the family that has owned the pub since 1840.
At night time, out comes the Mari Lwyd, an old Welsh tradition. To bring good luck, residents accompany a person dressed as a horse from house to house or on a pub crawl.
The Mari Lwyd in all its glory.According to Visit Pembrokeshire, “traditionally, Hen Galan was a bigger celebration than Christmas”.
These celebrations initially began as resistance to the government. Nowadays, they have morphed into something a little more low-key.
“This [Hen Galan] seems to have carried on as local tradition rather than any resistance to the new calendar,” Johnes says.
“It gradually fell out of practice, especially in the 19th century, when a growing modern media and greater mobility encouraged conformity in many aspects of cultural life.
“In a few places it seems to have carried on, probably as a conscious symbol of a local identity. It seems that in Cwm Gwaun continuing to celebrate the old New Year was one such example.”
