Merry Mari Lwyd
December 26, 2016
9:20 am
Havin’ some technical difficulties preventing me from logging in to post this last night, but it’s all resolved now.
Anyway, may the Welsh ghost horse sing you only the finest wassailing chanties this season.
Hey in the spirit of the season, how about I pick a random commenter this week and send them a vial of Black Phoenix’s Mari Lwyd perfume oil. Make sure you leave a functioning email so I can contact you (If you don’t feel like telling me your address I can either pick a different person or send you BPAL store credit to buy it yourself, we can cross that bridge when we come to it)
Honestly, there’s something about horse skulls that are so neat. Maybe it’s the addition of the festive ribbon as well.
Maybe it’s the fact that they always look so happy? Kind of offsets being the skull of something that is no longer alive. All skulls kinda look happy, but hose skulls especially.
Or rather, HORSE skulls. Pretty sure that hoses don’t have skulls, and that also my auto-correct is intentionally messing with me.
EVERYONE’S autocorrect messes with them. It’s half the fun (and displeasure) of even having it. ;)
I reckon that little metal thing at the end of a hose counts like it’s skull or skull equivalent
The great thing about autocorrect is that you can blame it for saying things you intended to say.
“Why’d you call me a bastard?”
“Oh! I meant to say buddy. Darn autocorrect.”
Isn’t that photo from Welsh Ghost Horse’s debut album?
So, I guess you might say that you got hosed by your auto-co-wreck?
;)
Oh, I think that bear skulls also look super happy. I mean, look at the happy critter:
http://www.headhuntertaxidermy.com/sell_skull/6.JPG
It’s cause it has all the fun of being a skull without the memento mori-ness of it being a human skull.
They always remind me of westerns, which happens to be my favourite genre.
Alright, I’ll play. Can I also take this opportunity to say that your comic is amazing and so are you, and it’s insane how you not only survive but thrive too
I thought that was a banshee at first but wow Mari Lwyd is actually a really cool thing I’d never heard of.
I never heard about the Mari Lwyd either, but I’m going to reference this really interesting folk-lore creature in some of my tabletop campaigns now.
Yeah the Welsh version of the “Hooded Animal” is pretty cool, we have quite a few variations over in Britain and a lot of other cool folklore traditions like it.
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda / Happy New Year to you all.
PS
Awesome comic, keep up the good work!
How does one hold a wassailing contest, anyway?
Apparently it’s like a rap battle but more Welsh.
So speaking unpronounceable gibberish, but faster? Yeah, the horse was going to win that one even if Commander tried.
I mean, in the end, Welsh people have an unfair advantage in that respect because they can get out a whole verse just by naming their hometown.
That’s why you don’t see too many sub-par rock performances in Wales. It’s really hard for an out-of-towner to get an easy cheer from “Hey, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, are you ready to rock?”
EPIC WASSAILING CONTEST OF HISTORY!
COMMANDER BADASS VS WELSH GHOST HORSE
YN DECRAU!
There’s a joke to be made there about “pwngco” and “pwnage…”
Well thats incredibly creepy.
Is that Welsh Ghost spirit thing part of Welsh folklore or did you come up with that? Its really interesting looking.
It’s called Mari Lwyd, it’s a thing where carollers go house to house with a horse skull on a stick and challenge homeowners to impromptu unrehearsed sing-offs.
So it’s holiday cheer rap battles. I can get down with that.
That sounds like a really fun, spirited tradition.
Is that something you did growing up, or is it Welsh-only?
I feel like the odds of me getting arrested if I attempted this are pretty high. …hopefully y’all will be reading all about it next year! If I’m not struck by lightening for riding it around Happy Gilmore style, I’ll be sure to post a link :-)
You are officially my hero for the day Squirrel Master.
This being an actual thing makes my day. Happy holidays and hope it was a good one! (Plus it’s nice to see Max making a friend in the background this season too.)
OK.
Thank you, I now have the idea of a costume I can wear all the way from Halloween to new year’s eve ! :D
I hope you have a good singing voice & fluency in the Welsh language…
I really dig the coloring here! Hope your holidays were nice.
I just hoperfect the songs aren’t too…(Mari) Lwyd!
I’m so sorry. I couldn’t think of a better pun. I’m not very good at horsing around
Hope*
Dang phone.
It wouldn’t be very neighbourly if they were.
Is that…is that Zarya in the background of panel 2?
I don’t think Jared has realized how rad his life has become.
Oh, I don’t know. I think he still feels a bit unworthy at times, but he definitely appreciates how great it is. That’s why he’s willing to battle unsuspecting Team Skull members for it.
Happy holidays from Italy. Your comics is amazing ;)
I just discovered the Mari Lwyd earlier this month, coincidentally. (And then it popped up on Stuff You Missed in Hisyory class and here!) Ya gotta love awesome, formerly holiday traditions.
For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, there’s a cute video of the horse head in action on YT: https://youtu.be/G_xFo6Hifzk
*formerly-pagan traditions. Dagnabbit phone!
Not really a pagan tradition, actually. Scholarly support for that theory has dropped off due to a lack of evidence. It seems to have developed after the protestant reformation, developing as a folk tradition to honor the Virgin Mary. The weirdness of it comes from the need to keep it “underground,” since Catholic practices were assigned various degrees of criminality in Britain over the centuries.
So Mary (according to welsh tradition) was actually a dead horse?
I think it’s supposed to be a grey mare that carried Mary to Bethlehem or something.
Holy crap– Black Phoenix is baller, you have good taste! Good luck to everyone, I’m off to read wiki articles about welsh folklore. :)
Being a reader of “Stand Still, Stay Silent” and the goings-on with a Danish ghost horse right now, I love this appearance of a friendlier, festive Welsh ghost horse!
Haha. The open horse skull mouth looks so obnoxious, yet so cheery. Also, unrehearsed sing-offs is a tradition I can totally get behind. Thanks for this strip, I had no idea these things existed.
See, this is just a bonus to reading the comic: I learn some things I probably never would have without it.
Welsh ghost-horse wassailing contests…I never would have known, and I honestly feel enriched for now having a starting point on beginning to know.
Well, if you start at http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp12132016.shtml and look at the three comic following it, you might get some hints on other Christmas traditions from history & around the world.
:D
Oh, I’ve been following something positive for a number of years now, and it can be as enriching as it can be heartwarming (or heart wretching, depending on where the story is going). I remembered the Santa vs butcher story (loosely) but didn’t know about the crone or the Yule cat stories (good stuff, that Yule cat)
I love this comic so much =D
Mari Lwyd is a reminder that folklore can be pretty damn amazing. Great comic!
I feel like my stupidity is showing, but what is that “Black Phoenix’s Mari Lwyd perfume oil” supposed to be, anyway? Perfume? Alcohol? A Cake? A musical album? I want to guess it’s the first, but the product description from the link and the comments I’m reading aren’t making it very clear.
Perfume oil is a form of perfume, the “Welsh cakes and ale with a smattering of dried lavender” at the bottom of the description is what the perfume actually smells like.
It seems to be a perfume oil that smells like cake, alcohol, and lavender.
I like this tradition much more than just singing to people.
Is that a plush, scientifically-accurate T-Rex I see?
I love the Claymation Christmas Special, but knowing that they ended a half hour of wassailing jokes with a bunch of leprechauns instead of this fills me with deep disappointment.
It warms my heart to hear someone else reference that special… that said, yeah, it always was confusing as heck to see what were clearly leprechauns in a Christmas Special.
… then again, this was the same special that featured anthropomorphic animals and dinosaurs, humans, R&B raisins, and several un-anthropomorphic animals, like the Wise-men’s camels (in two pairs of hi-tops each), who also sang.
And yet, the leprechauns were still the most confusing part…
Omg i was thinking about this same thing! The California Raisins. My parenys recorded the special when I was to young to comprehend lol. It might have been for themselves actually, LOL.
Oh wow, I had forgotten entirely about that strange Christmas special. I remember being deeply confused by it and asking my mom what exactly it was about.
Those camels were awesome! Honestly, that special has my favorite version of Carol of the Bells and of We Three Kings of Orient Are. When singing in public I have to resist the urge to add the same flourishes as those camels did, to be completely honest. They were seriously groovy.
Plus I was obsessed with dinosaurs when the special came out, sooooo… a triceratops named Herb will never not make me smile.
Those were the best versions!
I love the Mari Lwyd. Well, really I’ve got a quiet affection for all the folk myths and traditions we have over here. You don’t hear about them often enough out in the world!
Oh man I wanna be a Mari Lwyd when I grow up. Go to random people’s houses and wassail at them until they give me food and booze? Get to look real creepy? That’s the dream.
Now I kind of want something like those tacky singing fish, but a horse skull, hanging on my wall and singing Welsh Christmas songs.
That sounds lovely! I think I’d lose on purpose as well!
I can’t recall properly, is Rock and his wife Maddy divorced, or are they just separate? If their not divorced I wonder how she feels about Rock and Jonesy snuggling, for lack of a better word, together. I mention this because it looks like Maddy there in the doorway in panel 3’s background.
Pretty sure they are divorced. I don’t think the Commander is enough of a shitheel to snuggle with a new woman when he hasn’t finished things with the old one. And definitely not in front of his kids. Pretty sure he makes references to he and the ex “not being married anymore.”
I was thinking they mentioned that, back when when saw a pic of Maddy on the ship of one of Rock’s siblings, but wasn’t sure.
I have to ask, the blonde guy in the green shirt and the blonde guy in the red shirt.
Who are they ?
I am guessing one of them is Guile, beyond that I have no idea.
The one in the red shit is probably Duke Nukem.
Oh my gosh I really love this comic! The way it’s coloured is so beautiful and I love what you did with Jared’s hat. I love learning about Christmas traditions across the world and this one seems lovely!
Couldn’t find a ghost horse, so I got involved in a rap battle with a regular horse. I won, but I was asked by the rancher to leave.
Don’t let the NAAAAY sayers get you down.
The Mari Lwyd almost tops Tió de Nadal– the Catalan Yule log that is “fed” for a few weeks preceding Christmas so that it will poop out presents on Christmas day– for weirdness.
Almost.
And in the words of Anna Russell, “I’m not making this up, you know.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%B3_de_Nadal
Sounds like a quick-craft piñata
“out of time for your Christmas piñata? Hollow out a log and decorate it with ribbons and glitter and assorted ornaments and greenery for a quick and fast holiday game”
So it’s the Christmas poo?
The Catalonian culture has a weird obsession with combining Christmas and crapping.
For example, no Catalonian Nativity Sisplay is complete without a figure of a boy squatting in the alley behind the stable and taking a dump.
Personally I find horse and cow skulls way more creepy than, say, human ones (We have this bad tradition where over half the med students pay gravediggers – often with booze, to dig them out a skull so they have a learning aide. Going to a med dorm for drinks means you end up around skulls).
I am a big Canada fanboy. I’ve been a fan of MGDMT for some years now and I really miss Canada, the coolest, most adorable and nostalgic character I’ve seen in the hundreds of series I’ve frequented. There’s no point to you drawing something you don’t feel, but I would like an estimate if its possible you will be featuring him in some future comics.
And thank you once again for making this fine piece of craft. You know we adore you for it.
Is that Zarya in the second panel background?
i do believe it is
Looks like it. I also see Kratos and Duke Nukem. I can’t quite make out the last gentleman behind Jared’s head.
It definitely is, but who’s that she’s with, Duke Nukem?
It looks like it. She’d definitely fit in well with Commander’s guys.
One of the best parts of this comic is that it’s not only funny, not only beautifully crafted, not only written by a badass who is also an awesome cosplayer and talented artist/writer triple threat, but also that it’s educational! You and your work continue to be a gift, coelasquid, and one I’m very thankful for this holiday season and all year round! <3 May your 2017 be shiny and chrome!
Ok I’ll bite. I really wanna know what this stuff smells like. It’s also a nice opportunity to say i absolutely love this comic. I was lured in by the promise of a ludicrous video game comic, and i stayed when i realized it’s just a generally ludicrous comic, with amazing artwork. Merry Christmas, happy Festivus, etc etc. Keep up the awesome work :)
This whole thing looks metal as fuck
01110010 01100001 01101110 01100100 01101111 01101101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100
Well played sir. Well played.
I wonder what this ghost horse likes to sing…
God rest ye MARE-y gentlemen
Silent NEIGH, Holy NEIGH
Away in a MANE-ger
You, good Sir/Madam, win today’s internet!
Man, all I got were normal carolers. Nothing as fun as a Welsh Wassail Battle.
I learned about the Welsh ghost horse tradition from a Mercedes Lackey book a couple years ago! *flails*
Hey, if he’s down with cakes and ale and stuff then there’s always room for one more at the party, right?
Well, you learn something everyday!
I love that the internet is starting to spread legends beyond Krampus. :D
First off, please DON’T put me in for the perfume oil. No offence, I just think it would be better given to someone who actually wears scents.
Second off <3 wassailing. Like the good stuff, where you go door to door, and demand booze and cake in songs, else you won't go away.
WE WON'T GO UNTIL WE'VE GOT SOME! NO WE WON'T GO UNTIL WE'VE GOT SOME, SO BRING SOME OUT HERE!
Also: Soul soul soul cake, please good missus a soul cake. Apple, pear, plum, or cherry. Any good thing to make us all merry. One for peter, two for paul, three for he who made us all…
And: "My shoes are very dirty, the streets are very thin. I have a little pocket to put a penny in. If you haven't got a penny, a ha-penny will do. If you haven't got a ha'penny than god bless you."
Mmm, good memories.
For some unbeknownst reason my brain sang the quoted bit to the tune of the Llama Song. I know it isn’t, but much like you can sing most Emily Dickenson poems to Gilligan’s Island, it worked.
Oh! Seems like good times. I wish welsh spirits sang to me.
Also, I’m interested in the raffle or whatever-thing.
I am very tempted to recreate this for next Christmas.
How long until Jared throws a Pokeball at it?
About 2.5 glasses of Eggnog.
this is a tradition i would love to bring to the states but i suspect i’d be arrested or, given my neighborhood, possibly shot.
Well, I don’t know why, but I was not expecting to find an obscure (to the rest of the world) Welsh holiday spirit featured in today’s comic. Wasn’t until the third panel that my brain clicked and I went ‘Oh, I know what that is!” of course by then the joke was mostly over but for the punchline. I ight be a little slow, but I loved it.
Delurking because of the Incense you put out to attract wild Pokémon like myself.
I adore your comic and have been reading it for years and sharing it with my colleagues.
Had a funny thought. Would be funny for Jared to get a Salazzle that treats him like the female squirrel does Arthur in sword of the stone while the Commander sits back like Merlin did.
I’ve read that Pokedex entry and this ain’t that kinda comic! 0_o
Just make sure to keep the bubble tea away from Kratos and they should have a fun party.
Maybe the singing ghost horse would make the holidays a BIT less awkward?
Does it do requests? I would give SO MANY cakes and ales to hear a ghost horse thing sing Santa Baby.
This is awesome!
Squealing at Zarya and Duke hitting it off. That’s a conversation I’d like to listen in on.
This comic does for Duke what TeamFourStar did for Nappa. lol
Creepy ghost people are the best people. Except for when you have to exorcise them.
That looks like an incredibly cozy holiday party.
Im sorry if this is known info and Im just rehashing something, but lately every time I try to load into this website, I get this sketchy looking Google Chrome Update page, instead of the main page.
Does anyone know whats up with that? I dont trust it being an actual Chrome update cause its got a weird ass HTML, and Chrome updates in the backround, not on a click bait pop up.
I’d love to put a horse skull up as part of a scarecrow for my garden, but I think I’d end up more scared of it than the various critters, and I can’t trust my spouse to not move it in the night to mess with me.
I’d give that thing antlers though, it’d be amazing.
*is welsh*
Cool to see this! :D
Ah, cool! I’d seen a few images going around social media of the Mari Lwyd, but didn’t know what they were associated with until now. That is both lovely and really cool.
It is also really nice to see that the Commander and Maddy are still able to host a nice holiday party with their mutual friends and family (if that is Maddy in panel 3?).
Man, I’d lose the contest on purpose too, if it meant awesome entertainment and great singing. (* ॑꒳ ॑* )⋆*
I wish I could be invited to a nice holiday party and given cakes and ale for winning a singing contest…
Also, I’m really happy to see Commander referring Jared as part of the family, and seeing him and Jonesy being relaxed and happy together.
I find it great that the Commander and all his interns are so close now.
Hrm is that Duke Nukem and Zarya hitting it off over by the punch bowl?
If you go out alone at night in Wales you may be cornered by close-harmony singers who will subject you to half an hour of stirring traditional songs before letting you go.
I’ll sign up for being random by mentioning that the Finnish name for Santa (if translated literally) is Yule Goat. So he’s often depicted gray, but it was a while ago I last saw him depicted as a goat.
(It could also be translated into Yule Log, from the traditional gift of getting a piece of firewood thrown into your house by secret neighbors who would have snuck up to your door.)
Gotta say I love the fluffy Rex plushy.
Oh I heard about this on the Stuff You Missed in History podcast. Love what you’ve done with it in the comic and the actual picture. I kind of feel like the little raptors or random ghost Pokemon should be following it around :3
Thanks so much for all your hard work and a happy New year!
Well, don’t mind if I do! Merry holidays you all!
You did the feathered dinosaur! #SKy, you noticed too! <3
Really cool ghost! And is that Maddie I spy in the back?
Happy holidays!
I read this comic on twitter last night in black and white and then went off to research the Mari Lwyd and I can now for certain say that I totally get where Commander is coming from and I too want to be the ghost horse’s friend.
Oooh I’ll play! And, after this, I’m off to google Mari Lwyd because it sounds really interesting. Also appreciated the little Zarya in the second panel. Love the comic, brings a smile to my face on even some of my roughest days! Thank you for all the work you do on it. :)
Hmm… This is what I “heard” when seeing the ghost horse-singer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnvMQMLGSlU
And there is Kratos… behaving!.
THINGS WE CAN HAVE AROUND KRATOS
=======================
VENDING MACHINESWASSAIL GHOST HORSES
BUBBLE TEASo traditional Welsh carolers would challenge people to rap battle/roasts? Not gonna lie, I’d like to hear some of those. Even if I don’t understand a lick of Welsh.
I like how the ghost horse has that joyous expression in the last panel, among other charming details, like Jared’s hat/scarf combo and June’s raptor toy.
Now that I think of it, I bet the Commander knows some great viking halls, full of meat and mead and song.
Well damn, I kinda want the Mari Lwyd in my house. And that’s such a fantastic tradition! I miss caroling. Haven’t seen any carolers for many years. D:
Totally love this one. <3
I finally got 100% caught up with MGDMT last week, and I was so excited about it XD This has been an absolutely hilarious and amazing comic!
I learn a surprising amount from your comics and tweets. Keep it up, and thanks for doing this every week.
I’ve never even heard of Welsh Ghost horses. I need to do more studying of welsh mythology apparently.
One of my friends pointed out this comic to me knowing how much I’d love seeing a singing horse skull and unaware I knew of the Mari Lwyd. It’s wonderful to see one in comics!
Is anyone else disappointed no one is wearing tacky sweaters? I would love a Commander or Kratos in a tacky sweater.
That is a really cool creature. Think I”m going to go read up on the Singing Ghost Horse lol.
I look forward to reading your comic every week, and to be greeted this time by a horse skull faced ghost…! Awesome! I love your worm.
Work!
Damn autocorrect…
ghost horse <3
This comic is so often surprisingly educational.
I remember meeting you at lbcc once! You continue to make super cool comics!
As my wife points out, it’s not really losing if you get what you want.
This comic always leaves me with a smile, every damn time. Thanks for all your hard work!
Something about horse skeletons really creep me out. I grew up on a cattle farm, and we had working horses, so maybe it’s in some way connected to that? But any kind of “evil horse” folklore or their skeletons or anything gives me a major case of the heebiejeebies!
Who is the guy in the green sweater in panel three?
Long-term reader; infrequent commenter. Thanks for all your awesome work and giving me my first smile of every week. Happy holidays!
As a 34 year old welsh guy, I gotta admit I was surprised to learn some of our local history on here! Wonderful stuff!
Cheers for that! (And an excellent comic, as ever.)
Coelasquid, I have to thank you for introducing me to Black Phoenix Alchemy. For two years, I’ve been buying stuff for my wife, and getting her gift cards. She thinks it’s totally awesome, so I’m stealing the credit for finding it :)
No need to send any perfume my way, my wife already has a dragon hoard of the stuff.
-KL
“You’re one of the family”
HNNNNNNNNNG YES THESE ARE GOOD FEELS
It’s cool that we got to see the black and white version through Twitter, then this coloured version as well. The actual colours are quite different to what I imagined in my head.
Is that Zayra from overwatch in panel 2?
I wanted to come to a party dressed as Krampus. But I couldn’t find the chains.
There’s quite a few neat holiday myths out there, this one is new and really really cool to me. Also really glad that your comic is been around this year, and looking forward to a whole new one of really cool things to happen! ^^
Great comic really enjoyed it!
As a fan of the comic for a good few years, I love it.
As a native Welshman who loves his country’s folklore, I love it even more.
Definitely the best comic on the net right now.
That is a slick glow effect on that ghost horse.
Best use of wassailing I’ve seen all year…
/Only/ use of wassailing you’ve probably heard all year (except singing / listening to We Wish You a Merry Christmas).
I know that the previous comic was the last one to have the Lord Humungus in it, but I’m not sure if he’ll come up again any time soon and anything before the current strip tends not to get any responses. Anyway, THIS happened, and I just wanted to share it with those of us who hadn’t seen it yet: http://wiki.puella-magi.net/File:EC02.jpg
I have never actually heard of this Mari Lwynd before but I like it! I only spent a summer in Wales, clearly it wasn’t something to regale visitors with at the time.
Lessee…Lord Humongous, a Welsh Wassailing Ghost…
Is it just me, or has this comic turned from “Manly Guys Doing Manly Things” into “The Real Life of Coelasquid?” Either way, it’s still awesome! As far as I’m concerned, somebody should take that “Manly Man” meme on the interwebs & replace the picture of that guy with The Commander.
And a Happy New Year to Everybody!
Here was me thinking ‘real life of coelasquid’ WAS manly guys doing manly things.
The Mari Lwyd can visit my house anytime!
Now i wana see this take place on Epic Folk (Rap) Battles of History.
Even if I don’t get the give away I’m glad I now know about this, gonna get that scent either way
Love this webcomic. I watch all the time for updates, and it gets my husband and I giggling.
*looks up the tradition*
Oh by heavens. Is there any way for somebody in the States to witness this glorious tradition??
This is super, BUUUT a word of warning about folklore of the British Isles; it’s all fun and games until someone starts morris-dancing…
(I’m allowed to say this; my Dad’s a Morris Dancer, and it’s taken YEARS to get over the shame.)
Love Mari Lwyd, though – it’s a great festive version of trick-or-treat!
Merry Festivus, Coelasquid!
Mari Lwyd? I’m utterly shocked I’ve never heard of this before. This seems like something I should have known.
Better than a banshee by a mile!
This comic keeps getting better and better! Excellent work! :D
This is like my second favorite update. Welsh Ghost Horse is awesome!
Happy Holidays to you! Thanks for another year of MGDMT comics!!
Long time reader (started shortly before the ‘free-range fire’ comic [went back and started from the beginning, though]), first time commenter. Good job and keep up the awesome work (I also watched Ugly Americans on CC, but that was neither here nor there)! And Merry (Belated) Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, And Happy New Year!
The ears on the Horse Head and the Flowers truly make the whole thing surreal and special for me :o
Well, it’s kind of freaky, but in fairness, it’s not the most freaky thing CB has ever dealt with.
And if it goes hostile, well, I think Mr. Fish definitely knows Bite, which, as a Dark-type move, is 2x effective vs. Ghost types. (4x if the thing happens to be Ghost/Psychic type.) He won’t get STAB, but he wouldn’t need. Unless the thing happens to be specially immune to physical attacks, of course; but if that’s the case, then Mr. Fish probably knows Dragon Rage. He might also know Twister or Hydro Pump, but it’s unlikely.
Either way, though, when you have a Gyrados, Welsh singing horse-ghosts aren’t very scary.
And lastly: You can’t even claim that Mr. Fish, as a Pokémon, is ineffective against non-Pokémon. We’ve seen him tear an ogre or something apart, after all: http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/mr-fish-hasnt-showed-up-for-a-while
“Aw shucks, I’m just happy to be hear guys!”
Awesome comic.
Guaranteed comments for random gifts!
I am glad I now know about the Mari Lwyd. Webcomics also taught me about krampus. Webcomics are just a great place to hang out
I had to see what the kerfuffle on tumbls was about.
Me wants that oil :)
Have you ever read The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper? It’s a ‘young adult’ series from way back before that became a big thing, and it is excellent (2 of the 5 books won Newberry honors). It’s steeped in Welsh mythology, and the 5th book, Silver On The Tree, features the Mari Llwyd. I remember it being terrifying to 12-year-old me…
I love Jared’s red-and-blue beanie (with skull) and scarf. So festive!
You should get a sample of villain by black Phoenix alchemy lab. It’s my favorite.
P.s. don’t pick me, let someone else discover the wonders and mysteries of oil-based perfumes. I love playing the game of olfactory charades as the perfume changes differently with friends.
Hahah I might have one, I’ve got like, hundreds of imps from going to their lunacy events all the time hahahaha
D’aww, Jared’s ‘one of the family’. That just warms me to the cockles of me heart. ^_^
it is a very subtle touch but i love how jared is wearing a Christmas bennie
I like how the beanie still has the happy mushroom-octopus.
Lol I love how everybody but Jared is perfectly fine with Mari Lwyd, like it’s something that is perfectly normal around the Commander.
Which, admittedly, it probably is.
Of all possible guests to show up at the Commander’s Christmas party, I wasn’t expecting the Mari Lwyd. (Nobody expects the Mari Lwyd! Except the Welsh, probably.)
Between Shirley Baisey and Tom Jones I don’t know anyone could ever stand a chance in a singing contest against a Welsh.
Tbh the practice of wassailing sounds way cooler than caroling… I wonder if we could get a movement to start here in America lmao
Happy New Year and thanks for a great comic. Just finished a 2 day archive binge after hearing about it in the Stand Still Stay Silent comments. Looking forward to more in 2017.
Okay so my biological father’s sister said I’m part welsh. Im a FAILURE though because … how do you pronounce lwyd?
LOO-ud.
Ah shoot I missed the perfume oil! That’s what I get for not keeping up with the updates all the time :p
How’s it smell?
Didn’t expect to see Y Mari Llwyd popping up here! Bendigedig!
omg you don’t know how happy it makes me to have a comic with the Mari Lwyd. Not a lot of people out side of Whales even know about it. Just makes this place even more awesome!
Wassailing you say?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpmg5DrpC0
It’s Sleipnope