The Little Book of Welsh Culture E-Book

Mark Rees

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 286

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Did you know? - Richard Burton claimed that he would rather have played rugby for Wales at Cardiff Arms Park than Hamlet at the Old Vic. - Local rivalries between choirs in the 'land of song' used to be so fierce that fights would break out following singing competitions. - Roald Dahl was an RAF fighter pilot during the Second World War, and a near-death crash landing inspired his first published work. The Little Book of Welsh Culture is a fast-paced, fact-filled journey through the cultural heritage of Wales, crammed full of myths, traditions and personalities. Experience the country's immense artistic legacy as never before, from the medieval legends surrounding King Arthur and The Mabinogion to its modern-day transformation into a thriving filming location for big-screen blockbusters. Discover the truth behind the ancient druidic rituals of the National Eisteddfod, separate the facts from the fiction that surround Dylan Thomas' infamous lifestyle, and learn how Wales successfully regenerated the Doctor Who franchise – and unearth some fascinating secrets and hidden gems along the way.

Leseprobe

First published 2016

This paperback edition published 2022

The History Press

97 St George’s Place, Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire, GL50 3QB

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

© Mark Rees, 2016, 2022

The right of Mark Rees to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7509 6922 2

Typesetting and origination by The History Press

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ Books Limited, Padstow, Cornwall

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

CONTENTS

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 The Culture of Wales

2 Welsh Literature

3 The Land of Song

4 Cool Cymru

5 The Visual Art of a Nation

6 Wales on Stage

7 Film, TV and Radio

Bibliography

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For more than fifteen years, Mark Rees has published articles about the arts in some of Wales’s best-selling newspapers and magazines. His roles have included arts editor and what’s on editor for titles such as the South Wales Evening Post, Carmarthen Journal, Llanelli Star and Swansea Life. He has written a number of books about the history and culture of his homeland, with other titles from The History Press including Ghosts of Wales: Accounts from the Victorian Archives (2017), The Little Book of Welsh Landmarks (2018), and The A-Z of Curious Wales (2019).

‘Mark is one of the very few journalists whose enthusiasm and support for the arts and entertainment in Wales transcends his day job and is clearly in his bones.’

Michael Smith, Arts Scene in Wales editor and Wales Theatre Awards director

‘With his extensive knowledge and passion, Mark is most definitely an ambassador for the arts in Wales.’

Nia Jones, Wales Millennium Centre marketing manager

‘Mark’s inquisitive mind and apposite comments are hugely important and are a benchmark for our own efforts in maintaining a healthy and vibrant cultural environment.’

Paul Hopkins, Swansea Grand Theatre programme, marketing and development manager

‘It seems a shame that Mark has written this book. Had anybody else been the author, he would have featured in it extensively himself.’

Owen Staton, actor and Welsh storyteller

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, a huge diolch o galon to my family for their unwavering support, and apologies for any prolonged absences and unanswered messages during the months spent researching and writing this book. To my editors past and present – Wyn Jenkins, Peter Slee and Jonathan Roberts – for not only allowing me to write about my passion, but for actually paying me for the privilege as well. And to Nicola Guy and everyone at The History Press for commissioning the book that you now hold in your hands.

A little book of Welsh culture would not have been possible without the backing of the South Wales Evening Post, and everyone working in the arts in Wales who very kindly gave up their time to assist with my requests for images and information, in particular: Paul Hopkins and all at Swansea Grand Theatre; Sara Jones and all at BBC Cymru Wales; Nia Jones and all at the Wales Millennium Centre; Branwen Jones and all at the Welsh National Opera; Catrin Rogers and all at the National Theatre Wales; Jo Furber and all at the Dylan Thomas Centre; Adrian Metcalfe and all at the Lighthouse Theatre Company; Jeff Towns, the world’s leading authority on all things Dylan Thomas; and Mal Pope, an absolute gentleman and the finest barista this side of Brazil.

I would also like to express my gratitude to archivist extraordinaire Pat Jones, whose knowledge knows no bounds; Owen Staton, the king of Welsh storytelling; Mike Smith, a relentless crusader for the arts and a friendly face at the opera; Chris Carra and Fifty One Productions, for joining me on my first attempt to unpack Wales on film; and to Jean and Lindsay for keeping me in hot meals and football tickets throughout the season.

INTRODUCTION

Welsh academic and novelist Raymond Williams described the word culture in his Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (1976) as ‘one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’ and, having researched its meaning ahead of writing this book, I find it hard to disagree.

Fortunately, for the purposes of The Little Book of Welsh Culture, I haven’t had to analyse the word’s early origins or historical evolution as Williams did, but merely to use it in its modern-day context, namely as a word to describe the way of life for a group of people and, more predominantly, the arts.

To reflect this, this book has been divided into seven chapters.

The first is an overview of all the core cultural features that make Wales the great country that it is, many of which reoccur throughout the book – the language, the symbols, the festivals and the traditions.

The remaining chapters take a chronological journey through the arts themselves, from the ancient bards to the visionary landscape painters, and the opera house-filling superstars to the Academy Award-winning actors.

By its very nature, this ‘little book’ is intended as a snappy overview of Welsh culture and doesn’t pretend to be a comprehensive guide, but I have endeavoured to squeeze as many facts and details into this small volume as I possibly can.

I hope you enjoy this book and, if nothing else, I hope that it inspires you to investigate some of the subjects further – to visit a gallery, to download a song, to read a book, or maybe even learn a few words of yr iaith Gymraeg.

Mark Rees, 2016

1

THE CULTURE OF WALES

To be born in Wales,

Not with a silver spoon in your mouth,

But, with music in your blood

And with poetry in your soul,

Is a privilege indeed.

Brian Harris, In Passing (1967)

THE WELSH LANGUAGE

From the early verses of the sixth-century bards to the rousing national anthem and the annual National Eisteddfod, arguably the single most influential factor in the history of Welsh culture is the Welsh language – yr iaith Gymraeg.

For those who can speak it, it is a constant source of pride and inspiration, and for those who can’t, they need look no further than the bilingual street signs or tune in to a Welsh-language radio station for a taste of its lyricism.

The oldest language in Britain, it is thought to have emerged, in its most primitive form, in the middle of the sixth century, evolving from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language which was spoken across what is now Wales, England and southern Scotland.

English is now the predominant language in Wales, with the United Kingdom Census 2011 revealing that only 19 per cent of the population can speak their native tongue. But while it is assumed that there are no monoglot Welsh-speakers remaining, there are still many for whom Welsh is their first language, predominantly in west and north-west Wales.

The reasons for the decline have been attributed to several factors, from mass immigration during the Industrial Revolution to, more recently, English being the global language of choice in the Internet age, but there was also systematic suppression, with the most infamous example being The Welsh Not.

A punishment introduced for schoolchildren in the late nineteenth century, pupils caught speaking their own language would have a wooden board hung over their neck inscribed with the initials WN. The Not would be passed on to the next child who transgressed, with the unfortunate bearer at the end of the day being severely caned for their heinous crime.

In modern-day Wales the opposite is now true, and since 2000 the teaching of the Welsh language has been made compulsory in all schools.

In 2011, following a unanimous vote by the National Assembly for Wales, royal approval was given to the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure which conferred official status on the language, and saw the appointment of a Welsh Language Commissioner to ensure that anyone wishing to live their life solely through the medium of Welsh should be treated no differently to anyone using the English language in Wales.

SYMBOLS OF WALES

The Welsh flag: Wales is the only home country not represented in the Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom which combines aspects from the crosses of England’s St George, Scotland’s St Andrew, and Ireland’s St Patrick.

Fortunately, in the Red Dragon (Y Ddraig Goch) it has a much more visually appealing flag of its own, displaying the iconic image of a mythological fire-breathing creature standing firmly on the green, green grass of home with a claw raised defiantly to the white sky.

The Welsh dragon’s origins are steeped in myth and folklore, and can be traced back to the ninth-century Historia Brittonum in which a red dragon and a white dragon are fighting underground. An analogy for the native Britons fighting the invading Saxons, the tale was expanded upon in the twelfth century by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), and the Mabinogion prose tale Lludd and Llefelys.

It is thought that King Arthur might have brandished a dragon on his standard, as did Cadwaladr, a Middle Age king of Gwynedd, and its use could possibly be traced back to an emblem used by the Roman military.

Owain Glyndŵr, the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales and an enduring symbol of Welsh nationalism, brandished a golden dragon (Y Ddraig Aur) while rebelling against the English.

In the fifteenth century, the House of Tudor added their green and white livery to the Red Dragon after Henry Tudor, of Welsh ancestry, carried the flag into St Paul’s Cathedral as he took the English throne from Richard III after the Battle of Bosworth.

In 1807, the Red Dragon was set to a green base and became the Royal Badge of Wales, and formed the basis for the current incarnation of the flag, which was given official status by the government in 1959.

St David’s flag: The flag of St David, a yellow cross on a black background, is considered to be the unofficial second flag of Wales. Deriving its colours from the diocese of St David’s coat of arms, it can be seen across Wales on St David’s Day, and has been used as a symbol of nationalism, by the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division during the Second World War, on the badge of Cardiff City Football Club, and even by a group of devout Christians who have called for it to replace the official flag, claiming that the Red Dragon represents the Devil himself.

Prince of Wales’ Feathers: The heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales is often used to symbolise Wales, most prominently on the jerseys of the Welsh rugby union players and by members of the military. Its design – three ostrich feathers held inside a golden crown above the slogan Ich dien (‘I serve’ in German) – can be traced back to the fourteenth century.

Illustration of a woman in traditional Welsh dress from George Borrow’s Wild Wales, 1907.

The national dress: In the late eighteenth century, the practical clothing worn by rural Welsh women caught the imaginations of tourists and printmakers alike, and the concept of a traditional Welsh costume was born.

The outfit survives to this day, and can regularly be seen at patriotic events such as eisteddfodau, St David’s Day school celebrations, and at many tourist destinations – if only to appease modern-day sightseers.

Regional variations aside, it typically consists of a bedgown and skirt, both with strong colours and usually a striped design, a distinctive shawl made from Welsh wool, a cape with a large hood, and its most distinctive feature, a tall, rigid hat which is worn on top of a cap or handkerchief.

Notable for her efforts in popularising the look is Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover, a Welsh arts enthusiast who wrote the 1834 National Eisteddfod prize-winning essay ‘The Advantages resulting from the Preservation of the Welsh language and National Costume of Wales’.

The leek, the national emblem of Wales: Emblazoned on the Welsh pound coin and worn with pride on St David’s Day, the exact details of how the green and white – and somewhat pungent – leek became the national emblem for Wales are now lost to time, but it has been suggested that its origins date back to the times of the Druids, who believed that the vegetable held magical healing properties.

There are early references to the leek in the colour scheme of the outfits of fourteenth-century archers, and guards working during the Tudor dynasty are known to have worn them on St David’s Day.

In William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, dated around 1599, King Henry V describes the custom as an ancient tradition and tells Captain Fluellen that he is wearing one ‘for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman’.

In a story recorded in the seventeenth century by English poet Michael Drayton, it was claimed that St David himself instructed his soldiers to wear leeks in their hats as they battled the Saxons, which wouldn’t have been hard to come by as the battle took place in a field of leeks.

The daffodil, the national flower of Wales: As with the leek, the daffodil is proudly displayed every St David’s Day, pinned on clothing or even, during rugby matches, in the form of a head-covering hat.

A debate broke out in the nineteenth century in which it was argued that the daffodil was actually the true emblem of Wales, and that the less aromatic leek had been mistakenly chosen due to the similarity of their Welsh names: cennin for leek, and cenhinen Bedr (Peter’s leek) for daffodil.

Despite the leek emerging victorious, the daffodil found favour with many, including Welsh Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and established itself as an alternative, if not a replacement.

THE PATRON SAINT OF WALES

St David’s Day (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant), 1 March: Wales’ Patron Saint’s Day is a time of national celebration, marked by parades, public events and, particularly in schools, eisteddfodau, and the wearing of national symbols and traditional dress.

Held annually since the eighteenth century on what is thought to have been the day of his death, St David was a deeply spiritual man who promoted a simple life of piety and abstinence, which included no meat and no alcohol, and is said to have lived for 100 years.

Several miracles were attributed to the sixth-century bishop, the most well known of which relates to a time when the ground rose from beneath his feet while preaching in Llanddewi Brefi, allowing the word of God to be seen and heard far and wide, as a white dove symbolically settled on his shoulder, establishing itself as the saint’s emblem.

St David’s Day, which many in Wales have petitioned to be made an official bank holiday, is celebrated around the world wherever the Welsh can be found. The largest North American event is the St David’s Day Festival in Los Angeles, while Disneyland Paris marks the occasion with a St David’s Welsh Festival weekend, during which Mickey and friends host concerts in Welsh costume, and add a Welsh-theme to the daily parade and fireworks displays.

THE PATRON SAINT OF LOVERS

St Dwynwen’s Day (Dydd Santes Dwynwen), 25 January: While not as prevalent in Wales as St Valentine’s Day, the increasingly popular Dydd Santes Dwynwen is celebrated annually in much the same way, with the giving of romantic cards and flowers, and the added Welsh spin of love spoons.

Named after the fifth-century saint of love, who forsook love for herself in order to bring it to others, legend has it that Dwynwen fell in love with the unattainable suitor Maelon Dafodrill, and prayed to have all thoughts of her beloved removed.

Answering her plea, an angel arrived with a potion that not only erased Dafodrill from her memory, but froze him into a block of ice. When God granted Dwynwen three wishes, her first was to thaw her former sweetheart from his icy prison, the second was to ask God to take care of all true lovers, and the third was that she would remain unmarried for the rest of her life.

The reason for the final wish was to allow her to devote her life to God’s service, taking the nun’s habit in Anglesey where the remains of her church can be seen on the island of Llanddwyn.

Love Spoons: Dating back to at least the seventeenth century, the handmade Welsh love spoon is a time-honoured tradition that remains popular in the craft and gift shops of Wales today.

While not originally unique to Wales, with several other European countries producing love spoons of their own, while the tradition has all but died out elsewhere, it has flourished and taken on a distinctly Welsh character in the passing centuries.

As the name would suggest, their original purpose was purely romantic and they were gifted as a symbol of commitment, but while the materials needed to create the spoons would have been readily available, the real skill lay in the hands of the crafts people who transformed a simple piece of timber into a magical keepsake.

The oldest surviving example from 1667 is a part of the collection of Cardiff’s St Fagans National History Museum.

NADOLIG LLAWEN (MERRY CHRISTMAS)

Christmas in Wales is the largest celebration of the year, a time of goodwill when workers down tools to exchange presents, and to overindulge in food and drink, with their nearest and dearest.

But it wasn’t always this way. Traditionally, New Year’s Eve was seen as the highlight of the Christmastime calendar, with Christmas Day itself considered to be more of a religious occasion.

On Christmas Eve, it was customary to decorate the house with evergreens in preparation for the big day, with holly symbolising eternal life, and mistletoe to ward off evil. There’d be singing and dancing until late into the night, and in some areas they’d make cyflaith (taffy) before the early morning pilgrimage to church.

Plygain (matins) singing would traditionally take place between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., in which the men, and later the women when allowed to join in, would sing carols until daybreak. As regular services were rarely held in the dark, an important feature of the festival was the use of plygain candles, with each parishioner bringing their own candle to spectacularly illuminate the church.

On Gŵyl San Steffan (St Stephen’s Day/Boxing Day), regional customs in honour of the Christian martyr included the bloodletting of livestock – believed to be for their own benefit – and the painful practice of holming, in which unfortunate individuals – usually female servants, or the last person to rise – were lashed on the arms and legs with branches of holly.

MARI LWYD

One of the more peculiar Welsh Christmastime folk traditions is the Mari Lwyd, a wassailing custom that would take place during the twelve days of Christmas and is now commonly associated with New Year’s Eve.

A gang of men would go from home to home brandishing the Mari Lwyd, a hooded animal much like a hobby horse, which was assembled by attaching the skull of a horse, adorned with ribbons and bells and complete with moveable jaw, to the end of a pole held upright by a carrier concealed under a sheet.

The group, directed by a leader decked out in his Sunday best and accompanied by musicians and others dressed as characters such as Punch and Siwan (Judy), would attempt to gain entry to the home through the use of pwngco – a playful battle of song, in which a verse is sung by the visitors, and the occupiers attempt to repel them with a verse of their own.

The Mari Lwyd. (South Wales Evening Post)

If successful, the Mari Lwyd would cause mischief in the house, chasing the girls and scaring the children, while the leader would do his best – or at least pretend – to keep it under control until they received their reward of food and drink.

While the tradition of disturbing neighbours in the early hours of the morning has been consigned to the past, there are still areas of Wales where the Mari Lwyd is practiced in a more respectable form, most notably in the village of Llangynwyd, just south of Maesteg, where a visit to the Old House Inn on New Year’s Eve will still bring you face to face with a horse’s skull.

SEASONAL FESTIVALS

New Year’s Day (Dydd Calan), 1 January: Preceded by much merriment during New Year’s Eve (Nos Galan), it was traditional for children to go door-to-door before noon on New Year’s Day with good tidings and song while brandishing a skewered apple decorated with evergreen in return for gifts of calennig – usually money or food.

Twelfth Night (Nos Ystwyll), 5 January: Along with the removal of Christmas decorations, which were buried with seeds in the hope of a good spring, the unusual custom of Hunting the Wren occurred on Twelfth Night. The miniscule bird was hunted and caged, before being paraded around the houses where payments were given in return for a glimpse of the feathered prisoner.

Feast of the Epiphany (Ystwyll), 6 January: Glamorganshire had its own unique way of marking God’s manifestation as a human by hiding a ring inside a loaf of bread or cake and breaking it into three pieces – one for Christ, one for the Virgin Mary, and one for the Three Wise Men. The lucky ring-finder would be nominated king or queen for the day.

Mary’s Festival of the Candles (Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau), 2 February: The pagan Festival of the Candles, which became the Welsh Candlemas when Mary’s name was added to the title, was a time when those who had been allowed to work by candlelight during the dark winter months handed back their candles. Customs included divination and the wishing for an abundant year.

Shrove Tuesday (Dydd Mawrth Ynyd): The tradition of feasting on the day before Lent saw the last of the supplies used up to make crempogs (pancakes), with surplus food given away to poorer members of the communities. But it was accompanied by a rather unpleasant custom for the supplier of its main ingredient: any hen which failed to lay its eggs before noon was buried up to its neck in the ground while blindfolded participants took it in turns to try smacking it with a stick. The first to succeed would claim the hen as their own – to be eaten the next day.

Easter (Pasg): In keeping with the resurrection theme, Sul y Blodau (Sunday of the Flowers) on Palm Sunday was a time for out with the old, in with the new – for the living as well as the dead. New clothes would be worn, and graves would be given a makeover, cleaned and decorated with flowers. Dydd Gwener y Groglith (Good Friday) was seen as a day of rest, and the streets would be deserted but for those making their way barefoot to church out of respect for Christ’s resting place beneath their feet. On Llun y Pasg (Easter Monday), crowds would gather on the highest mountain points to witness the sunrise, which symbolised Christ rising from the grave.

May Day (Calan Mai), 1 May: A celebration of love and rebirth when bonfires are lit to herald the arrival of summer. Traditions included divinations, dawnsio haf (summer dancing), carolau haf (summer carols), brightening up homes with flowers, and the appointment of a May King and Queen.

Calan Awst (Lammas Day), first day of August: The Welsh equivalent of the Gaelic festival Lughnasadh was a time for celebrating the year’s first harvest with drink, dance and song.

Halloween (Nos Calan Gaeaf), 31 October: Nos Calan Gaeaf is a time when spirits roam the land, haunting crossroads and lurking in graveyards. Revellers would dance around bonfires and place a stone bearing their name into the flames, before hurrying home to avoid any of the apparitions that might be abroad – in particular, Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta (The Tailless Black Sow), and the ladi wen (lady in white). If anyone found their stone to be missing the next morning on Calan Gaeaf – the first day of winter – it was considered to be an ominous prophesy of impending death in the coming year.

THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD

The most important dates in the Welsh-speaking cultural calendar are reserved for the eisteddfodau (the plural of eisteddfod) – a competitive festival of the arts which can be traced back to the twelfth century and which thrives today thanks to a romanticised revival in the eighteenth century.

Said to be the largest festival of competitive music and poetry in Europe, the name derives from a combination of the Welsh words eistedd (sit) and bod (to be). The nearest English translation is the word session.

The first known eisteddfod took place during the Christmas period of 1176 at Cardigan Castle, the home of Rhys ap Gruffydd, the Lord Rhys, where the custom of awarding a chair for the best poem began. The first large-scale gathering was in Carmarthen in 1451, while the first use of the word eisteddfod to describe the festival dates from Caerwys in 1523.

The fortunes of the eisteddfod mirrored those of the professional barding tradition in Wales which declined in the sixteenth century, and early attempts to revive the festival in the eighteenth century amounted to little more than a handful of poets gathered in a tavern. The turning point came when Thomas Jones, an exciseman from Corwen, approached the London-based Welsh literary and cultural Gwyneddigion Society in 1789, which set in motion the modern concepts of professionalism, forward planning, and an open door to the public.

Ray Gravell lifting the ceremonial sword ahead of the Swansea National Eisteddfod, 2006. ( South Wales Evening Post / Adrian White)

In 1792, Iolo Morganwg – the bardic name of Edward Williams (1747–1826) from Pen-onn – established what has become an integral part of the eisteddfod when the Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (Gorsedd of the Bards of the Isle of Britain) first met in London’s Primrose Hill.

One of Wales’s most important, if notorious, cultural figures, Williams was an expert antiquarian and an authority on medieval literature, but his reputation was tarnished when it was discovered that – for all his good intentions – he was also a forger who fabricated much of his work to serve his own ends of reviving Welsh culture by any means necessary.

As such, many of the ancient druidic rituals and ceremonies performed by the Gorsedd at eisteddfodau today might be considered to be time-honoured traditions in the sense that they date back hundreds of years, but not thousands of years as originally claimed.

Spurred on by the indignity of the Treachery of the Blue Books in 1847, an English-commissioned report which branded the Welsh working class as ‘ignorant, lazy and immoral’ due to their language and religious beliefs, the search for a Welsh cultural renaissance gained new impetus, and following ‘the great Llangollen Eisteddfod of 1858’, the National Eisteddfod Council, who combined with the governing Gorsedd, was established.

In 1860, The Eisteddfod was born in Denbigh, and a year later the first National Eisteddfod of Wales was held in Aberdare, and continues annually to this day on the first week of August, alternating its location between North and South Wales.

A family friendly festival which offers the best of Welsh culture, from traditional choral singing to modern-day hip hop dancing, the heart of the eisteddfod is the Maes (field or area), populated by stall holders offering everything from local food to contemporary art and where over 6,000 participants read, sing and perform entirely in the Welsh-language in the Pafiliwn (Pavilion).

Some of the Gorsedd’s druidic ceremonies are also held in the Pafiliwn as well as at their Gorsedd stones (a stone circle, either permanent or, since 2005, temporary), while new members are welcomed with a lively procession through the Maes. The Crowning of the Bard (Coroni’r Bardd) ceremony usually takes place on the Monday, and the Chairing of the Bard (Cadeirio’r Bardd) on the Friday.

While the National Eisteddfod might be a celebration of the Welsh language, it can still be enjoyed by non-Welsh speakers, who can learn some of the language in a programme for beginners. In an effort to broaden the festival’s appeal, the 2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod used an ‘open festival plan’ instead of the traditional enclosed Maes which utilised Cardiff Bay’s existing buildings such as Wales Millennium Centre to host an ‘open door’ eisteddfod.

URDD NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD

In much the same way as the National Eisteddfod, the Urdd National Eisteddfod (Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd) is an annual cultural competition, but aimed at young people aged 7 to 24.

Thought to be Europe’s largest youth festival, it takes place during the May half-term, and also alternates from North to South Wales, with every fourth year taking place in Cardiff Bay’s Wales Millennium Centre.

The week-long televised festival provides a unique platform for young artists to hone their skills, and its competitions, which include Cân Actol (singing and acting) and Cerdd Dant (traditional string music), have been credited with helping to launch the careers of many an established artist.

The organisers Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh League of Hope or the Welsh League of Youth) were established in 1922 by Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards, the son of Sir Owen Morgan Edwards, and the youth movement has endeared itself to generations of Welsh-language schoolchildren with its instantly recognisable logo and mascot Mistar Urdd (Mr Urdd) and his infectious theme song ‘Hei, Mistar Urdd yn dy goch gwyn a gwyrdd’ (Hey, Mr Urdd in your red, white and green).

THE INTERNATIONAL EISTEDDFOD

The International Eisteddfod – not to be confused with the National Eisteddfod – is an annual eisteddfod with a global outlook which takes place in Llangollen, Denbighshire, for six days every July.

Welcoming some of the most accomplished artists from around the world, it promotes a message of peace and internationalism as the cultures of around fifty different nations take to the stage and, in one of the festival’s highlights, to the streets of the town for a colourful parade.

The daily competitions, which once saw a young Luciano Pavarotti compete on Welsh soil, are followed by evening concerts that allow some of the competitors to perform alongside established professionals.

EISTEDDFODAU AROUND THE WORLD

Eisteddfodau are not limited to Wales, or even to the Welsh language, and variations can be found in places like Jersey and Bristol, and even the National Eisteddfod itself has occasionally taken place in England.

Further afield, the concept of the eisteddfod has been adopted in Australia, and found a natural home-from-home in Argentina following the 1865 Welsh settlement in Patagonia, where several bilingual eisteddfodau – Spanish and Welsh – take place annually.

A network of Welsh-American societies stage eisteddfodau across North America, with singing and recitation competitions taking place during the Welsh North American Society’s wonderfully diverse North American Festival of Wales and the Malad Valley Welsh Festival in Idaho.

The Welsh Society of Philadelphia’s Cynonfardd Eisteddfod, held annually in Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, is thought to be the oldest continuous eisteddfod after the National Eisteddfod, having been established by Dr Thomas C. Edwards in 1889 following the settlement of Welsh coal miners.

CULTURAL MUST-SEES

Hay Festival (end of May): Described by former American president Bill Clinton as ‘the Woodstock of the mind’, the inspirational Hay Festival is Wales’ leading literature and arts festival.

Set in Hay-on-Wye, the Welsh ‘town of books’ at the peak of the Brecon Beacons National Park, it gathers together some of the world’s greatest thinkers – including writers, scientists, environmentalists, filmmakers and politicians – for eleven days of thought-provoking discussion, the exchange of ideas, and out-and-out entertainment from comedians and musicians.

Founded in 1987 by the father and son team of Norman Florence and festival director Peter Florence, it is said to have begun life around a kitchen table, funded by the winnings of a poker game.

The festival has since expanded to include the Hay Fever festival for children, along with a festive Winter Weekend in the heart of the town at Christmas, and international sister festivals in five different continents.

Green Man Festival (August): What began in 2003 as a small gathering in the Brecon Beacons has snowballed into Wales’ coolest music festival, while remaining true to its non-corporate roots by having no sponsors or advertising – it simply lets the music do the talking. The four-day festival’s eclectic line-up welcomes some of the hottest up-and-coming bands alongside established acts to Wales, with family friendly distractions and platforms for spoken word, comedy, literature and cinema.

Brecon Jazz Festival (August): The market town of Brecon becomes Wales’ jazz heartland every August when some of the best artists from around the world head to the hills for three days of live music. Founded by jazz journalist, musician, promoter and all-round jazz enthusiast Jed Williams in 1984, the festival now takes place alongside the Brecon Fringe Festival, which brings even more music to the surrounding pubs and clubs.

Festival N°6 (September): Wonderfully eccentric and intrinsically Welsh at heart, if not necessarily in appearance, the coastal tourist village of Portmeirion – an Italian-inspired hamlet designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis – plays host to a the three-day festival that embraces all styles of music alongside comedy, talks and poetry. Founded in 2012, it derives its name from the cult TV series The Prisoner, which popularised the area on the small screen in the 1960s. In 2018, the organisers announced that they would be ‘taking a break’ after the seventh festival.

The Good Life Experience (September): Flintshire’s The Good Life Experience was established by Cerys Matthews and Charlie and Caroline Gladstone in 2014 to – as the name suggests – provide a festival experience that promotes a simpler way of life. Set on the Hawarden Estate, the all-ages gathering encourages discovery and wellbeing through music, food, the arts, and the great outdoors, with events ranging from abseiling to Tai Chi.

Sŵn Festival (October): Founded by Cardiff-born DJ Huw Stephens and Welsh Music Prize co-founder John Rostron in 2007, the Sŵn Festival is a lively multi-venue music festival inspired by America’s South By Southwest festival. A winner of the Best Small Festival award at the NME Awards, the annual festival welcomes performers to venues across the city.

Folk music and dancing: