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1st January
New Year Customs in Wales.
Calennig.
The ancient custom of calennig can trace it roots back to the middle ages and is still active in some areas of Wales today. Children would go from house to house, singing rhymes and wishing the occupants a healthy and prosperous new year. In exchange for this goodwill, they would receive money, food or the calennig apple, which is an apple standing on a tripod of twigs and decorated with holly.
The Battle of Llwchwr and the Revolt of 1136.
The Battle of Llwchwr (Battle of Gower), which occured on New Year's Day 1136, between Loughor and Swansea, resulted in victory for the Welsh over a Norman army.
In 1135-1136, a succession crisis hit England following the death of Henry I. Stephen de Blois displaced his cousin and Henry's daughter Matilda which resulted in a breakdown in law and order, referred to as The Anarchy. Many Welsh lords saw this as an opportunity to rebel and recover lands, previously lost to the Normans. One such lord, Hywel ap Maredudd of Brycheiniog raised an army and marched on South Gower.
When the Normans intercepted them, the scale of the Welsh army took them by surprise and there was a violent clash on the common of Carn Coch, the Welsh army routed the Norman force, killing 500 men.
This victory inspired more rebellions and Gruffydd ap Rhys lord of Deheubarth journeyed to meet with Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd to enlist his aid in the revolt. In his absence, his wife Gwenllian raised an army and attacked the Norman castle of Kidwelly (Cydweli). However she was defeated, captured and beheaded and two of her sons, Morgan and Maelgwyn, also died (one slain in battle, one captured and executed).
In response, Cadwaladr and Owain, the brothers of Gwenllian, invaded Deheubarth, taking Llanfihangel, Aberystwyth and Llanbadarn and the two Gruffydds engaged a massive Norman army drawn from all the lordships of South Wales at the Battle of Crug Mawr, two miles outside Cardigan, in October 1136. After some hard fighting, the Norman forces were forced to retreat and were pursued as far as the bridge over the River Teifi.
The bridge collapsed with the weight of the fleeing Normans and hundreds are said to have drowned. Others fled int0 Cardigan, which was taken and burned by the Welsh. However they were unable to take the castle and it remained the only one to remain in the Norman's hands until the end of the rebellion.
Born on this day 1879 in Gowerton.
Ernest Jones - neurologist, psychoanalyst and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. Jones was the leading exponent of psychoanalysis in the English-speaking world during the 1920s and 1930s.
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Born on this day 1881 in Newtown
George Latham former Wales soccer international and coach.
Latham also coached Cardiff City between 1911 and 1936 and in that time, the team won the FA Cup in 1927 and only missed out on the League Championship by goal difference. While serving as a coach Latham was forced into playing for the side, becoming the oldest debutant in the history of the club at 41. His hometown club, Newtown later named their ground Latham Park in honour of him.
Latham served in the Second Boer War and the First World War, being awarded the Military Cross in 1917, for his bravery under heavy fire.
On 1st January 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government launched the project "Plant" (the Welsh word for children)
The project involves planting a native Welsh tree for every newborn or adopted baby born in Wales, to give the children a sense of ownership of their natural environment. The children receive a certificate through the post soon after their birth or adoption, stating that a tree has been planted for them and given its location.
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 1st January is the Eighth Day of Christmas.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - Eight Maids a Milking
Milkmaids would once have been a common sight in Wales, as many large houses employed them to milk dairy cows and to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter and cheese. Also in the nineteenth century, there was large scale migration of Welsh people to London in search of employment, resulting in the London milk trade being dominated by the Welsh and accounting for more than 50% of the trade. It was said of them "They alone among the inhabitants of the United Kingdom can make cowkeeping in London pay;
Milkmen were a rarity; a far more common sight in the London's streets were the milk-maids, who often had a regular round of customers, or 'milk walk'. Others were itinerants who 'cried their milk' looking for casual buyers.
The explanation of the saying "as smooth as a milk maid's skin" comes from the milk maid's exposure to cowpox, which gives a partial immunity to smallpox, which often causes pockmarking on the face of the victim. This observation also led to the development of vaccines.
