Old Easter Traditions in Wales

Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny are part and parcel of a child’s expectations of this memorable holiday in modern Wales. Still, some superb old traditions are associated with the religious observance of the festival, which is the most important in the Christian faith.

In Welsh, Easter is called ‘Pasg’, born of the Hebrew word ‘Pesach’, meaning ‘Passover’. The English word ‘Easter’ comes from the Pagan, Eostre, the goddess of fertility and new life. The idea of eggs being associated with a spring festival goes back to ancient Persia, well before Christ when coloured eggs were part of the spring celebrations. Easter was when Celtic and Christian traditions blended in Wales, as much as elsewhere.

In twelfth-century Wales, churches stood as beacons of faith, playing a central role in spiritual and social life. Easter was the pinnacle of the Christian Faith, and the lead-up to this particular time was also important. Lent would come before Easter, Palm Sunday or Sul y Blodau or Flowering Sunday, when flowers would be collected and laid on graves to remember the dead.

The days of Easter were when Christians would focus on Christ’s death on the cross, followed by his glorious and miraculous resurrection. The church held services right through Easter. Maundy Thursday was a time when the services were very solemn. Good Friday was a day of mourning, and people often went barefoot to church. This tradition came from not wanting to disturb Christ’s burial place and, therefore, to walk lightly on the earth. The Good Friday service was conducted in almost complete darkness. Fish would be eaten as the rule was to fast from meat.

Easter Sunday, however, would have been quite different, culminating in the joyous Easter Sunday festivities intertwining Christian solemnity with pagan rituals. Flowers and green shoots would decorate the church and homes, new reed flooring would be put down, and bonfires would be lit for dancing and singing around.

Easter came at a time when communities had endured through the harsh winter days and nights and offered fresh hope as spring brought the scent of new blossoms and flowers. Easter also came after Lent, a time of religious observance when communities had been fasting and abstaining from pleasures in honour of Jesus’s forty-day fast in the desert. It is not surprising, then, that there was such enthusiasm for the festival.

Feasting was important; the lords would open their homes and provide food and drink. After the solemnity of Lent, families would enjoy roast meat, plentiful eggs after Lent, and the delicacies of spring. Eggs were also vibrantly painted and given as gifts. Hywel Dda, the famous Welsh king and lawgiver, instructed the king and queen to give their old clothes to the court officers at Easter. The court Officers would then hand their clothes down the chain so that it was a time of renewal.

On Easter Monday, many would journey up a mountain to see the sunrise and remember Christ's resurrection. Later, other traditions became associated with this, such as in Llangollen, where it was considered important to complete three somersaults at first light on the top of the hill of Dinas Bran.

As the centuries have passed, much has changed in Wales, and Easter Celebrations have changed with the times. Echoes of those old traditions still linger, reminding us of a time when faith and community were the cornerstones of Welsh life.

If you would like to immerse yourself in the time of Wales in the Middle Ages, you might enjoy ‘The Welsh Traitor’s Daughter’ and ‘The Welsh Warrior’s Inheritance’.