Watch: National Trust brings magical Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau festival to Stackpole

National Trust Cymru is helping to put the forgotten Welsh festival ‘Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau’ back on the map, with a magical lantern parade in Stackpole.

‘Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau’ is a traditional Welsh festival that marks the coming of spring, with rituals that can be dated back to the 11th century. Over the years, the festival has been less prominent, however, a lantern parade hosted by National Trust Cymru meant that this festival was celebrated in style in Stackpole this year.

Candles

Traditionally, on Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau, celebrated on February 2, people would light candles to celebrate that they made it through the worst of winter, as a symbol of light in the darkness and to focus on the good times still to come.

In Stackpole this year, community members made almost 60 snowdrop lanterns in workshops hosted by the local artists Robert Jakes, Charlotte Cortazzi and Pauline Le Britton of Sand Palace Arts.

Along with impressive larger pieces made by the artists themselves, these lanterns were lit and formed the magical parade that went along the lakes.

The evening was bought to life by the storyteller Deborah Winter who led the procession and explored the traditional beliefs that informed the festival.

Rhian Sula, General Manager for Pembrokeshire said; ‘It’s great to be able to host an event that gets people to come together at Stackpole after the depths of winter and really connect with the landscape and our cultural heritage.’

‘It’s a time of year where we know people struggle to get out and about in nature due to the shorter daylight hours, so it’s fantastic that we have this space where we can facilitate our communities in coming together.’

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This event comes as the inaugural event of National Trust Cymru’s year of culture, where Wales in all its diverse nature, beauty and history is being celebrated through a programme of cultural and creative events and activities.