If you love dead horses, you're going to love this Welsh tradition. It's a wassailing folk custom where people use a horse skull dressed up in a sheet (complete with Christmas ornaments for eyes) to go door to door, singing for food and spirits. Yeah, it sounds pretty freaky to us, too, but what culture doesn't have freaky traditions? (The correct answer is Hobbit culture.)
The name Mari Lwyd (prounounced Mary Lewd) is thought to come from Holy Mary in reference to the mother of Jesus Christ, but how that deals with a dead horse, you'll have to research to find out. Honestly who even knows the roots of their own cultural practices? From Christmas trees to Easter eggs, very few people know the true origins of traditions.
What do you think of Mari Lwyd? Would you engage in this tradition?
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
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