If you're Welsh, you might have dusted off your festive horse skull for Christmas, but this weird and wonderful tradition has been part of midwinter celebrations since before Christianity and Christmas even arrived in the ancient kingdom of Wales. According to Atlas Obscura, some Welsh regions celebrate it in January, others at Christmas, and some even parade their ghostly horse heads around in spring or fall.
No one knows for sure where Mari Lwyd (pronounced "Mary Lloyd") came from or why, but the symbol of a white horse has long been a fixture on the island of Britain. And in Wales, the white horse takes the form of a beribboned horse skull with a trailing white shroud. The most enthusiastic revelers might add twinkling electric lights and ornaments to make even more a splash as they party with their neighbors.
And in many Welsh communities, Mari Lwyd literally is a party, where friends and neighbors can gather to enjoy traditional cakes and drinks all around. But revelers need to prove themselves before they can join the party themselves. Ancient partygoers may have engaged in fistfights or feats of strength to prove their worthiness, but in modern Wales, food and drink must be earned in a back-and-forth rhyming contest.
It hardly makes any sense, but during the darkest days of winter, maybe the joyous weirdness — and being weird and joyful together — is the entire point.
