These carrying horses are still believed to bring good luck and fertility to the houses they visit and those who are touched by them. It is therefore very strange that, in Wales, sometimes a singing contest takes place between the residents of the house and the Mari Lwyd party, apparently designed to keep the luck-bringing visitors out. The Mari Lwyd men were normally blacked up. They were dressed, not only in their best but decorated with ribbons. The Mari also was decorated, being the pride of the village. An article by Cadrawd in 'Cymru' 1912, refers to a party of revellers calling themselves 'Hoen Dawnswyr'. They carried a Mari Lwyd, who must be able to dance a jig. There was also a Punch and Judy. They had no music, but Punch beat time with his cudgel, while they danced. They would end by gripping each other's wrists and whirling round "with such velocity that they would end up quite dazed." Before Y Fari was admitted, those inside would sit back around the walls. The Mari Lwyd and her leader would come first, then the Punch and Judy side by side.The leader would then drop the reins and perform a step dance with Punch and Judy. These two were dressed as nearly as possible, like the popular puppets. In Mumbles, one member would play the part of coachman and whip the horse until it slowly died. This is unusual, although there is ritual beating of the Gwasseilwyr and of Punch beating Judy. According to a report in Archeologia Cambrensis 1888, work of the Mari Lwyd originally belonged to another party, the Gwasseilwyr

We have also included in our researches such Seasonal customs as the Mari Lwyd. An example of this carrying horse was taken to the Folkestone Festival in 1961 by the Llangollen dancers. Kent has a similar Hooden Horse, which is carried round at Christmas time. It is smaller than the Mari and has a wooden head with champing jaws. It is covered with a dark brown horse cloth and is generally in a crouching position; a striking contrast to the tall white Mari Llwyd. The unrehearsed meeting between these horses was an amusing episode to an otherwise dull festival.

The Mari Lwyd is a primitive type of seasonal horse, carried round at Christmas time. It consists of a horse's skull, set on a pole and carried upright by a man, completely hidden by a white cloth. The impressive example at St.Fagans has bottle ends set in the eye sockets, ears made of cloth and profusely decorated with ribbons. A variation from Pembroke is made of cloth and stuffed with straw and carried on a pitchfork. This, according to Marie Trevillian, was known as 'Aderyn bec lwyd' or 'Bwca Lwyd' (Bird with the grey beak or grey puck). The name 'Mari Lwyd' has been subjected to several interpretations. The most convincing is that from Dr.Peate, who suggests that it is simply the grey mare. Antiquarians have called it the blessed Mary and have given it all sorts of Biblical associations, such as the flight to Egypt, Balaam and the Ass, and the donkey turned out of its stall to make way for the birth of Christ. But its origin goes much further back, to prehistoric times. The horse and stag has long been regarded as symbols of fertility. A palaeolithic drawing in Pin-hole cave, Derbyshire, shows a man wearing a horse's mask, while those drawings in the caves of the Dordogne and Northern Spain show that the veneration of these and other herd animals was one of the earliest known beliefs. The Christian missionaries tried to stamp out these pagan practices and what they could note eliminate, they finally adopted. Hence the Biblical interpretations and co-ordination with the festivals of the Church.

The Mari Lwyd should not be confused with the Hobby or Tourney horse, which owes its form to the age of chivalry. This consisted of a horse and rider; the body and trappings of the horse being slung from the rider's shoulders. The Mari Lwyd belongs to the same family as the Kentish Horse, the wild white horse of Ireland and the wild horse of the Cheshire souling play. These carrying horses are still believed to bring good luck and fertility to the houses they visit and those who are touched by them.

(CRAFTS, CUSTOMS & CULTURE in CLWYD. Booklet for 1981 International Eistedffod)

The Mari Lwyd custom has been described as "a pre-Christian horse ceremony which may be associated with similar customs spread over many parts of the world"..... and it was associated in North Wales with both Christmas and the New Year. It is likely, however, that visits by the Mari Lwyd party were made over a period of several days in each case and that the association with any particular day during the Christmas season had become exceedingly tenuous.

The Mari Lwyd.... was carried about and the first intimation often received was the sight of this prowling monster peeping around into the room or sometimes shewing his head by pushing it through an upstairs window.... when the procession approached a house it was intended to visit, the leader tapped the door while the party sang the traditional rhymes..... The party outside engaged in a battle of wits with the householders and sang extempore verses to which those indoors were obliged to reply in a similar.... The Mari Lwyd then entered the house and paid special attention to the womenfolk, nudging, playing, neighing and biting then, besides talking... Having sung, danced and played about the party sat down to food and drink.