Plygain at the Cathedral

Patrick Thomas celebrates an ancient Welsh tradition

The word ‘Plygain’ comes from the Latin for cock-crowing. Originally it described an early morning Christmas service held between 4am and 6am. This included a specially written carol or carols (often composed by the clochydd – the sexton), and would be followed by a Communion service commemorating the visit of the shepherds to the Bethlehem stable.

Often the priest would be escorted from his house to the church by parishioners holding lanterns or decorated candles. Women and children would spend the hours before the service making toffee to consume during the service. Possibly this was because the earliest Plygain carols were often extremely long with a heavy doctrinal content.

The poet who did most to ensure that the Plygain tradition survived the Reformation was Rhys Prichard, the seventeenth-century vicar of Llandovery. The Cromwellian attempt to stamp out the celebration of Christmas was strongly resisted in Wales. It led to a remarkable renaissance of Plygain carol writing in North East Wales by staunchly Anglican poets.

Plygain services were held at Epiphany as well as Christmas. The custom gradually developed of holding evening Plygain services at which different groups of singers would participate. Each party of singers would bring its own carol or carols. The services began to be held in chapels as well as churches.

In the Diocese of St Davids the early morning Plygain survived in many churches until cultural shifts, changes in fashion and clergy shortages began to take their toll. As a curate in Aberystwyth and Carmarthen in the late 1970s and early 1980s I would take part in 6am Plygain Communion services in the Welsh language churches. After I became Rector of Brechfa in 1984 our 6am Plygain took on a new lease of life when we formed our own party of carol singers. Our enthusiasm hopefully compensated for any lack of quality in our unaccompanied early morning efforts,

Evening Plygain services, following the pattern that developed in North Wales, have become increasingly common in our diocese in recent decades. The late Canon Geraint Vaughan Jones and Dr Rhiannon Ifans have produced wonderful collections of traditional Plygain carols. I have had the privilege of being present at wonderful evening Plygain services in Llanddarog and Penrhyncoch, and would heartily recommend attendance at the Plygain in the Cathedral on December 15th at 7pm for a uniquely Welsh Christmas experience rooted in church tradition.