The Customs and Traditions of Wales

Trefor M. Owen’s seminal work educates, enlightens and entertains with a far-reaching yet accessible text, which paints a colourful and comprehensive portrait of a nation’s rich folk culture. The Customs and Traditions of Wales is an illuminating and engrossing insight into a subject that continues to unfold and develop in contemporary life. Despite an increasingly globalised society that has transformed local communities, folk customs are still practised and enjoyed the world over as people combine modern-day and historical rituals and embrace opportunities to learn about their past, and Owen’s influential study has maintained its relevance as customs change and evolve.

`This guide is certainly pocket-sized, but the depth and breadth of its contents are quite remarkable, and equal to what is often found in a much bulkier tome.' Lore and Language `... Trefor M. Owen has admirably succeeded in introducing his reader to a wealth of information on the social history, customs and traditions of Wales.' Rural Wales

‘Bando and cnapan, folk dancing and the Mari Lwyd – to us, entertaining leftovers from the Welsh past; but as this marvellous little book shows, actually the social glue which held communities together and from which we could learn much.’
–Dr Eurwyn Wiliam, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

‘When first published, this study by Trefor M. Owen was perhaps the most distinguished and substantial work on the daily life and traditional customs of pre-industrial Wales. It still remains an indispensable volume for anyone interested in the subject. The thorough and comprehensive updating of this re-published classic will make Owen’s impeccable scholarship and humanistic approach to the study of traditional Welsh life available to a new generation of readers.’
-Dr Juliette Wood, Cardiff University