St Teilo’s Church at St Fagan’s Museum on the day that one of the Cardiff Churches holds its annual Plygain Carol Service.

Plygain is a traditional Welsh language church service held in midwinter in which individuals, duets, trios, families and choral groups come forward to sing Plygain carols. These are traditional Welsh carols, some dating back hundreds of years (the first reference is in the Black Book of Carmarthen written in the 13^th Century), while others were written by bards such as Huw Morris and Gwallter Mychain (Walter Davies) during the 17^th -19^th centuries. They were often often sung as 3 or 4 part harmonies in the Dorian mode, used in Gregorian chants. They differ from English Christmas carols in that they refer to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ as well as his birth.

The Plygain service dates back to pre-reformation catholic masses (missa in gallicanti) held over the Christmas period. They were adopted by the Anglican Church following the Reformation and taken on by the non-conformists during the 17^th century. Traditionally they started between 3am and 6am, beginning in darkness and ending in daylight. There was no light in churches at that time and this was the only service to be held entirely by candlelight. In some parts of Wales traditional canhwyllau Plygain (Plygain candles) may have been made and these were sometimes decorated with paper ribbons or hoops. Torchlit or candlelit processions from local cottages and farmhouses could precede the service and young people would entertain themselves until the procession started. In Tenby, young men of the town would escort the parish priest from his home to St Mary’s Church while the rest of the procession sang and blew cow-horns. In some parishes, the candles were fixed to brass candlesticks on the altar. Whether held or mounted, the church could be a blaze of light for this one night of the year. One explanation of the name Plygain is that it comes from the Latin pullicantio meaning cock crow, which was when the service would finish.

The service would start with a very short sermon before the priest or minister would declare the Plygain open and the singers would take turns to sing unaccompanied until everyone who wished had participated. Then there would be a second round of carols in the same order of singers. Traditionally, ony men joined in the singing, but these days there is often a preponderance of women. There is no running order, no-one is called forward and the songs are unannounced. It is a principle that no song should ever be repeated and each contribution was expected to be different. This means that parties need to have a carol or two in reserve in case one of their intended carols is sung by an earlier group. There is no applause from the congregation, who are expected to silently contemplate the meaning of each carol. There will be between 8 and 14 parties as a rule and 20-30 carols taking 90 minutes to 2 hours. Once everyone who wanted to has sung, the whole congregation would be invited to sing Carol y Swper (the Supper Carol), including the line “Mae’r swper yn barod a’r bwrdd wedi’u gosod” (Supper is ready and the table is laid). the priest or minister would declare the Plygain closed and the congregation would retire for a prepared meal in the vestry.

Although carol singing generally is associated with Christmas, Plygain services could be held at any time from Advent to Candlemas (2^nd February). Many are held around Epiphany and the one in Cardiff is usually on te Sunday nearest the Welsh New Year (13^th January). Despite this flexibility, canu Plygain had been dying out in Wales in the second half of the 20^th Century, with only a few services remaining in Carmarthenshire, Glamorganshire and around Mallwyd and Llanerfyl in North Wales. However, there has been a recent resurgence with services held at Chepstow, St David’s and St Fagan’s among others. I have had the good fortune to attend the one at St Teilo’s Church in St Fagan’s Museum the last 2 years. It differs from the tradition in being held in the afternoon due to the Museum opening  hours and in not inviting all attendees to the post service repast. Despite this the atmosphere and the singing remain magical and reflect the true spirit of Christmas, something unusual in this commercial age.