History

Celebrate this Christmas by exploring recipes that have brought generations of families and communities together. Our curated selection will fill your season with the warmth of tradition, one recipe at a time.

The Goose

Group with geese at a farm on Stalling Down, near Cowbridge

Goose has been the festive bird associated with Christmas in Wales over the centuries. Since the late medieval times the yeoman farmer had a goose on his Christmas table. Geese were easily bred and readily fed, especially in the early autumn when they were allowed to glean the fields after the corn harvest. Many farmers would give one as a gift to tenants and workmen to celebrate Michaelmas Day but a fair number would be reserved and fattened for the Christmas Market.

Christmas Turkey in Wales?

Turkey was not part of the Christmas fare in the rural areas until the second half of the twentieth century.

In general, the turkey was not accepted as part of the Christmas fare in the rural areas until the second half of this century.

Goose Blood Tart

In mid-Wales, it was the custom to make goose blood tart when the farmers were killing a large number of geese at Christmastime.

Oral evidence testifies that this cake was an essential part of the Christmas fare in the Trefeglwys district and similarly in the districts of Staylittle, Llanbrynmair and Llangurig in Montgomeryshire. To date, however, there is no evidence to show that it was prepared in any other county in Wales.

Gooseblood tart, a Christmas delicacy in parts of Montgomeryshire

The blood of about three geese would be put in a greased basin and boiled in a saucepan half full of water. Then the blood would be allowed to cool and set solid before it was rubbed between the fingers to make fine crumbs. Mixed with currants, flour, suet, salt , spice and golden syrup, it would be baked between two layers of crust on a plate in the oven.

A strange mixture of ingredients, you may think, but not unlike the mincemeat in mince pies, which originally included real meat as an ingredient!

Plum Pudding

Plum pudding, well fruited and spiced, has been associated with Christmas since the early 18th century.

It would be boiled in one large lump in a linen pudding cloth, a custom that gave it the names lump pudding, rag pudding or bag pudding. The mixture was then bunched together and tied securely with strong cord to form a bag. The bag was then suspended from a stick placed across the top of the cauldron or boiler and immersed in boiling water. It was served with a sweet butter sauce.

Mixing the Christmas pudding involved the whole family when each member, from the youngest to the oldest, would take his turn to stir the pudding and in doing so would cast a secret wish. It was a common custom also when preparing the pudding to put small coins in the mixture - the old silver threepenny or sixpenny pieces, and the lucky recipients on Christmas day regarded them as tokens of good luck.

Toffee Evenings

Adding icing sugar to prevent toffee sticking together

Noson Gyflaith (Toffee Evening) was a traditional part of Christmas or New Year festivities in some areas of north Wales earlier this century. Families, in their turn, would invite friends to their homes for supper, usually in the form of a Christmas dinner, and it would be followed by merriment, playing games, making toffee, and story telling.

When the required ingredients had boiled to a certain degree, the toffee was poured onto a well-greased slate or stone slab. The hearth-stone itself was used for this purpose in some houses. Members of the happy gathering would then cover their hands with butter and attempt to "pull" the toffee while it was still quite warm. It was a skilled art to "pull" and twist the toffee until it became golden yellow in colour. Both the skilled and unskilled would take part - the one being a source of envy, the other a source of banter.

Toffee-making was also practised in parts of south Wales, especially in the coal-mining areas.

As far as we know, it was not associated here with a particular festive occasion, but housewives were known to sell it from their homes or on local market stalls. It was known by various names such as taffi, dant, or "fanny" or indeed it could be known by the name of the person who made it, e.g. losin Magws, or losin Ansin bach. Children would buy it - a six inch strip or two ounces for a penny.

Loaf Cake

Loaf cake, the rich yeast fruit cake baked for Christmas in the counties of south Wales

Loaf cake was synonymous with Christmas celebrations in the industrial valleys of south Wales. The dough, prepared in large quantities, would be carried to the local bakehouse where the baker would be responsible for baking the cakes for a penny or two per loaf.

Neighbours were invited to taste each other's cake, and tradition has it (in the district of Margam near Port Talbot) that if a young maid was given the opportunity to taste thirteen different cakes in one season, she would marry before the following Christmas.

Christmas card from the collection

Introduction

An extract from the White Book of Rhydderch, mid 14th century

Many different languages were heard in Wales during the early medieval and medieval periods. People from other countries invaded, came here to work or had prolonged contact through trade.

These passages were recorded in 2007 for new archaeology galleries at National Museum Cardiff. These modern recreations of what these lost voices may have sounded like illustrate differing degrees of linguistic exchange in Wales, and further perspectives on creative thoughts, words and deeds from these early periods.

Middle Welsh

Old Welsh developed into Middle Welsh around 1100. Spoken Welsh included a variety of dialects, such as Gwyndodeg (the speech of Gwynedd) and Gwenhwyseg (the speech of Gwent). The written language was used for religious literature, legal texts, works on medicine, heraldry and farming as well as prose sagas and romances. Medieval Wales remained overwhelmingly Welsh speaking.

We have here an example of Middle Welsh taken from one of three cywyddau by the professional bard Iolo Goch (about 1320-98) praising Owain Glyn Dŵr. This one praises his court at Sycharth.

The cywydd (plural cywyddau) is one of the most important metrical forms of Welsh poetry, consisting of a series of seven-syllable lines in rhyming couplets, using a form of harmony known as cynghanedd. It was the favourite metre of the poets of the nobility.

Iolo's patrons included high-ranking churchmen as well as Anglo-Welsh and Welsh noble families.

Transcription of the audio passage:

Llys Owain Glyn Dŵr

Naw neuadd gyfladd gyflun,
A naw gwardrob ar bob un,
Siopau glân glwys cynnwys cain,
Siop lawndeg fal Siêp Lundain;
Croes eglwys gylchlwys galchliw,
Capelau â gwydrau gwiw;
Popty llawn poptu i'r llys,
Perllan, gwinllan ger gwenllys;
Melin deg ar ddifreg ddŵr,
A'i glomendy gloyw maendwr,
Pysgodlyn, cudduglyn cau,
A fo rhaid i fwrw rhwydau;
Amlaf lle, nid er ymliw,
Penhwyaid a gwyniaid gwiw,
A'i dir bwrdd a'i adar byw,
Peunod, crehyrod hoywryw;
Dolydd glân gwyran a gwair,
Ydau mewn caeau cywair,
Parc cwning ein pôr cenedl,
Erydr a meirch hydr, mawr chwedl;
Gerllaw'r llys, gorlliwio'r llall,
Y pawr ceirw mewn parc arall;

English translation:

... nine symmetrical identical halls,
and nine wardrobes by each one,
bright fair shops with fine contents,
a lovely full shop like London's Cheapside;
a cross-shaped church with a fair chalk-coloured exterior,
chapels with splendid glass windows;
a full bakehouse on every side of the court,
an orchard, a vineyard by a white court;
a lovely mill on flowing water,
and his dovecot with bright stone tower;
a fishpond, hollow enclosure,
what is needed to cast nets;
place most abounding, not for dispute,
in pike and fine sewin,
and his bord-land and his live birds,
peacocks, splendid herons,
bright meadows of grass and hay,
corn in well-kept fields,
the rabbit park of our patriarch,
ploughs and sturdy horses, great words,
by the court, outshining the other,
stags graze in another park...

English translation by Dafydd Johnston (D. Johnston 1993, Iolo Goch: Poems, Gomer.

Middle Welsh reading by Professor Peter Wynn Thomas, Cardiff University.

Flemish (Middle Dutch)

Flemings came to England with the army of William the Conqueror, and during the 1100s as merchants and colonists for new towns. The most famous group of colonists are the Flemings of south-west Wales (Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion). Flemings retained their identity as a group and their language for several generations until the early 1200s. By then they had transformed the character of areas of Dyfed.

This example of Flemish comes from the 'Roman van Walewein'. Roman van Walewein is an Arthurian story which appears to be a Flemish invention and in which Walewein (Gawain) is the main character. The central theme in the story is the quest for a flying chess-board which appeared at Arthur's court (and disappeared again).

Transcription of the audio passage:

Die koninck Arthur zat t'enen male
Te Carlioen in zine zale
Ende hild hof na konink zede
Alzo hi menigwerven dede
Met een deel zire man
Die ik niet wel genomen kan:
Ywein ende Percevaal,
Lanceloot ende Duvengaal
Entie hoofse Walewein;
Zijn gezelle was daar negein.
Ook was daar Keye, die drussate.
Daar die heren aldus zaten
Na den etene ende hadden gedwegen
Alzo hoge liede plegen,
Hebben zi wonder groot vernomen;
Een schaak ten veinstren inkomen
Ende breedde hem neder uptie aarde.
(...)

English translation:

King Arthur once was seated
in Caerleon in his hall
and held court as kings do
and as he did frequently
with a number of his men
who I cannot name all.
Yvain and Perceval,
Lancelot and Duvengal
and the courtly Walewein;
who was there without peer.
Also Kay was there, the steward.
When these lords sat there
after a meal, and had washed (their hands)
as gentlemen use to do,
they witnessed a great wonder:
A chess-board came in through the window
and alighted on the floor.
(...)

English translation/source: D. F. Johnson and G. H. M. Claassens (eds) 2000, Roman van Watewein. Arthurian Archives. Dutch Romances. Vol. 1 (Cambridge); Flemish reading by Lauran Toorians.

Text by Mark Redknap with Peter Wynn Thomas, Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost, John Hines, David Trotter, Lauran Toorians

Introduction

Latin inscription on a 9th century monument from St Illtud's Church, Glamorgan. The cross was erected by Houelt (Hywel) for this father Res (Rhys).

Many different

Recorded in 2007, these modern recreations of what these lost voices may have sounded like illustrate differing degrees of linguistic exchange in Wales, and further perspectives on creative thoughts, words and deeds from these early periods.

Latin

Most educated Romano-British were bilingual. Latin was the language of law, government, business and literature in Roman Wales. Latin remained the international language of the highest status throughout the early medieval and medieval periods. It was the language of Christian texts, liturgy and education.

The audio track is a reading of the Vulgate version of the Lord's Prayer, read by Beatrice Fannon.

Transcription of the audio passage:

PATER noster, qui es in caelis,
Sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.

English translation:

Our father, who art in heaven,
Halloed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

Old Norse

Norse was the Scandinavian language of the Vikings. It was still quite similar to English, and these two languages assimilated in the Viking-settled areas of northern and eastern England. There are many place-names of Norse origin around the coasts of Wales.

The audio extract is from a Norse skaldic poem by Þorkell hamarskáld celebrating the victory by Magnus Barelegs at the Battle of the Menai Straits (AD1081). In 1081 a combined Welsh and Norwegian force defeated the Normans at the Battle of the Menai Straits. Viking court poet Þorkell hamarskáld celebrates the victory, in particular the role of Norwegian king Magnós berfœttr (Magnus Barelegs). The poem would have been composed and performed orally around or soon after AD1100.

Transcription of the audio passage:

Dunði broddr á brynju.
Bragningr skaut af magni.
Sveigði allvaldr Egða
Alm. Stọkk blód á hjalma.
Strengs fló hagl í hringa,
Hné ferð, en lét verða
Họrða gramr í harðri
Hjarlsókn banat jarli.

English translation:

Arrow drummed on mail-coat. The chieftain shot forcefully. The mighty ruler of the people of Agder bent his bow. Blood sprayed on helmets. Bowstring-hail flew into ring-mail, the troop fell, and the prince of the people of Hordaland caused the earl to be slain in a hard fight for land.

English translation by Judith Jesch. Source: J. Jesch 1996, 'Norse historical traditions and the Historia Gruffudd vab Kenan: Magnós berfœttr and Haraldr hárfagri' in K. Maund, Gruffudd ap Cynan. A Collaborative Biography, 117-47.

Old Norse reading by Professor John Hines, Cardiff University.

Introduction

Market stall produce from a Carmarthen farmhouse, by Mrs E. Evans, Pencader.

In the industrial towns and villages of both north and south Wales, selling traditional dishes from the home or on the local market stall used to be a prominent cottage industry. During sickness, industrial strife or if the bread-winner of the family died, the income gained from selling home-made food or drink made a considerable difference to families who could not rely on the social benefits we enjoy today. The service was also of value to the local community.

Faggots

In the coal-mining villages of south Wales, one of the favourite dishes prepared for selling was faggots. An observer, visiting Merthyr Tydfil market in 1881, witnessed the selling of home-made faggots there:

A pile of what I took to be sausages were steaming furiously over a brazier of burning coals on one end of the bench, with a teapot leaning lazily against it and thinking aloud. Choosing what seemed the least formidable specimen of the food before me, I pointed to the brazier, but in a tone so low I was not heard 'I will take a sausage'. Obeying my gesture, the woman served, the woman served me a saucer-full of the black balls, swimming in hot gravy, and gave me a pewter spoon with which to eat it, instead of the knife and fork which might have been expected with meat. The balls proved to be not unpalatable eating, and were, according to my best judgement, made of liver.

These forcemeat balls were prepared from pig's liver, lights (i.e. lungs), small pieces of pork fat and the thin membrane known as caul. The liver, lights and pork pieces were chopped finely, to which were added chopped onions, breadcrumbs, a little sage and seasoning. All were well mixed together. The caul was then cut into six-inch squares, each piece being wrapped around a tablespoonful of the mixture to form a faggot. Placed side by side in large roasting tins, they were cooked in a moderately hot oven.

They would be served cold with bread and butter for lunch or a supper snack, but it was also a tradition to serve them hot with peas and gravy. Miners' wives or widows striving to augment the family income would buy pig's liver and lights regularly from the local butcher for a nominal sum of money. They would prepare this delicacy with peas to sell from their own homes.

Up until the 1950s, some women in the mining villages of south-east Wales would prepare and cook faggots on specific days of the week throughout the year. Regular customers from the neighbourhood would bring along an earthen jug or bowl to carry home the required number of faggots in gravy and another bowl for peas. One woman recalled how selling a hundred faggots at two pence each every Friday evening provided her with a sum of money to buy a joint of fresh meat for her own family's Sunday lunch. Home-made faggots are still sold today by some well-established stall holders in the market towns of south Wales today.

Pickled Herrings

In north Wales, women would prepare pickled herrings to be sold. Herring fishing was a major industry common to all coastal villages and towns in Wales, but the selling of this traditional dish was confined to the coastal towns and slate-quarrying villages of the northern counties. Placed in an earthenware dish with onion rings, pickling spices and vinegar, water and seasoning, the herrings were baked very slowly until the bones disintegrated. This dish was prepared on specific. Men-servants were known to congregate in a particular vendor's house and while away their time in a convivial atmosphere on a Saturday evening consuming this delicacy. Others would buy them at mid-day and eat them in their own homes with jacket potatoes and oatcakes.

Oatcakes, buns, and bread pudding

Mrs Cathrin Evans stacking the oatcakes together to harden.

Other favourite items prepared in ordinary homes in the counties of south Wales for marketing were yeasted currant buns (pice cwrens) and bread pudding (pwdin bara), while in north Wales oatcakes and muffins were the stock items sold. The art of oatcake-making was prolonged in slate-quarrying districts by women who practised it in order to augment their income. Women proficient in the same craft in agricultural areas were employed as casual labour on larger farms to bake a substantial supply of oatcakes for the harvest period or for the winter months.

Toffee and small beer

Adding icing sugar to prevent toffee sticking together

In the industrial towns of both north and south Wales, home-made toffee and small beer were luxury items sold by ordinary housewives. Home-made toffee, known as cyflaith or india roc in the north, or as taffi dant, or losin dant in the south, would be sold from home or on local market stalls. One particular family in the coal-mining district, at the turn of the century, developed their toffee-making business to the extent that they eventually established a sweet-manufacturing business. Their shop, meeting the demands of the mining community, became a centre where people met to exchange views on cultural and religious topics.

Diod fain or diod ddail (small beer) was a favourite drink with the coal-miner and slate quarry-worker alike: as a thirst quencher it was drunk daily by members of both communities. Local demand proved profitable to many widows or others anxious to find a source of income. They would brew it weekly in large quantities to sell to regular customers for two pence per quart bottle. One woman from Glamorgan, recorded by Amgueddfa Cymru, related how she collected large quantities of nettle-leaf tips and dandelion leaves, in season. They were washed, dried and stored in clean sacks to provide her with a continuous supply throughout the whole year. A quantity of these leaves, together with ground ivy, red-currant leaves and root ginger were boiled, the liquid was strained and sweetened with sugar. Yeast was added to the cooled mixture, which was cooled and allowed to stand overnight. On the following day it was poured and corked securely. In the early decades of the 20th century, the woman recalled selling an average of forty-two bottles per week making a profit of seven shillings, a sum which at that date was an invaluable addition to the low family income. She was one of many other industrious women who supplied their neighbourhood with this delectable drink.

Workmen's Institutes

Blaenavon Working Men's Institute, early 20th century

Between the 1880s and the 1930s a number of Workmen's Institutes were built in the industrialized townships of south and north-east Wales. Their aim was to provide educational and recreational facilities for workers and their families. They usually housed libraries and reading rooms where daily newspapers were available, but might also include theatres, cinemas and games rooms (snooker, billiards and dominoes were particularly popular). Used for public lectures, political rallies, concerts, dances and eisteddfodau (competitive music and recitation competitions), the Institutes also provided venues where groups and societies could meet and local bands could practise and perform. Some Institute buildings were four or five storeys high and even contained swimming pools!

Oakdale

The Reading Room, Oakdale Institute about 1946

The Oakdale Workmen's Institute served the community based around Oakdale Colliery in Monmouthshire. The first shaft had been sunk in this hitherto relatively unspoilt part of the Sirhowy valley in 1906, and a second — the Waterloo shaft — was sunk four years later. The coal seams proved to be outstanding both in terms of quality of coal and thickness of the seams. Accommodation for the workers and their families was provided in a purpose-built ‘model village’ named Oakdale.

Laying foundations

At the heart of the new village was a Workmen's Institute. Construction work began in 1917 and on 3 July that year a ceremony was held at which two foundation stones were laid. Specially engraved trowels were presented to the two main participants: Harry Blount, on behalf of the workers, and Alfred S. Tallis, Managing Director of the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, which owned the Oakdale mine. The building was finished the following year when, presumably, a 'topping out' ceremony would have been held to mark the completion of building works.

The building was officially opened on 10 September 1917, and a special key was presented to A S Tallis, representing the mine owners, as a token of the building committee's appreciation for the loan of £10,000 given by the company towards the cost of erecting the building.

A new life at St Fagans

The Oakdale Institute was donated to St Fagans National Museum of History (then called the National Folk Museum of Wales) in 1987. It was dismantled, re-erected and refurbished to its late 1930s appearance and opened to the public in 1995. The two trowels used at the ceremony to mark the laying of the foundation stones were donated to the Museum in the months leading up to the opening by relatives of their original recipients. (One trowel had found its way to the Isle of Wight, while the other was in Swansea.) The building was officially opened by the Rt. Hon. Neil Kinnock, then European Commissioner for Transport, but formerly leader of the Labour Party and MP for the constituency of Bedwellty within which Oakdale was situated. Days before the opening, the engraved key given to the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company was also donated to the Museum.