Christmas in Monmouthshire - Out Now

"Sing a mournful song of Christmas, we have no Christmas now" stated the Monmouthshire Merlin of 1836. In the early 19th century Christmas was almost non existent, then in 1848, the London Illustrated News printed a picture of Queen Victoria and her family around their Christmas tree. The popularity of Christmas would soar again, but why had it fallen out of favour in the first place? What was Plygain, the Mari Llwyd, and Watch Night? How did the rich of Monmouthshire celebrate? What did the poor do at Christmas? How did people decorate their homes? What did they do for entertainment? Discover the answers to this and much more in Christmas in Monmouthshire.

Out now in paperback from Amazon or as a download to Kindle

Christmas in Monmouthshire: The Christmas Truce and Beyond

Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, and on Christmas Day that year many men from Monmouthshire found themselves in the trenches.  The 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment witnessed the Christmas Day Truce.  I know this from a letter my Great Great Uncle William Jones sent home.  He described attaching a copy of the Pontypool Free Press to a rifle as a flag of truce and spending a couple of hours talking to the Germans.  Others wrote home of the same experience.  Back at home fundraising efforts were taking place over the four war Christmases to provide food and clothing for those still fighting and those taken to Germany as prisoners of war.

This is the final chapter of Christmas in Monmouthshire and it will be available by the end of October 2015

Christmas in Monmouthshire - Twelfth Night

The penultimate chapter in my new book.  Twelfth Night or Old Christmas Day as it was sometimes known falls on the 6th January.  Before the Calendar Act in 1751 Christmas was celebrated on the equivalent of the 6th January by our modern calendar.  Mentions of Twelfth Night in Monmouthshire's old newspapers tend to concentrate on the celebrations at Tredegar house which were marked with extensive hospitalities by Sir Charles Morgan.  Races took place in the park between amateur jockeys and in the evening principle families from Monmouthshire were invited to a grand fancy dress ball.  Supper was laid out on a table with elaborate decorations and the centrepiece was the Twelfth Night cake.  The poor were also not forgotten and left Tredegar House with warm clothes provided by Sir Charles Morgan in 1831