✨🎭 The Night of Masks 🎭✨

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After the snowstorm, the house felt especially quiet and warm.
Snow lay softly in the yard. The windows no longer rattled in the wind, and the fire in the hearth burned steady and calm.

“We should tidy up,” Al said.
“And the Yule Goat is standing all alone outside,” Sofai added.

The children got to work. They folded the blankets, cleared away the mugs, and swept the floor. Then Stefan opened the door to the storage room.

“Hey… what’s this?” he asked.

Inside were old crates and wooden chests.
May lifted the lid of one of them — and everyone leaned closer.

Masks. Big ones. Strange ones. Nothing like cheerful holiday decorations.

There was a deer mask with tall antlers. A horse mask with a long wooden face. Beneath them lay scraps of fur, ribbons, bells, and pieces of old costumes.

“This is Yule mumming,” May said softly.

She carefully picked up one of the masks.

“On Yule nights, people put on masks and stepped into the dark as winter guests.
They went from house to house with noise, songs, and wishes of good luck — to help the light remember the way back.”

“Like caroling?” Al asked.

“Exactly,” May nodded. “Caroling grew out of Yule. Out of walking through the darkest nights of the year.”

She paused, then continued: “But these traditions weren’t only from the North.
Among the Slavs, there was a winter festival called Kolyada. It also took place at the winter solstice and marked the birth of the new sun.”

“People dressed in animal skins and wore masks,” May said, running her fingers over the bells. “Sometimes they painted their faces with soot or beetroot. They went from house to house singing — and were given treats in return.”

“Why?” Al asked.

“They believed,” May replied, “that the way Kolyada passed would shape the whole year.
If the guests were welcomed kindly, the year would be warm and generous.”

She thought for a moment, then added:

“Similar customs existed in many places. In England, during Yule, there was a tradition called wassailing.”

“Wassa… what?” Stefan asked.

“Wassailing,” May smiled. “It means ‘be well.’ Masked visitors went from house to house, singing and wishing health and good fortune.”

“And the treats?” Sofai asked at once.

“There it was the other way around,” May said. “The singers raised a cup of hot, spiced drink and toasted the hosts. Then the hosts thanked them with food, drinks, or small gifts.”

May looked back at the masks.

“Everywhere, the meaning was the same. To wake good fortune. To help the sun return. To remind the world that winter doesn’t last forever.”

She pointed to the horse mask.

“This is Mari Lwyd — a traditional Welsh winter custom. A group of masked visitors would travel from house to house, led by a figure shaped like a horse. It knocked, sang, and challenged the people inside. If the hosts answered — the year was said to be lucky.”

“She’s a bit creepy…” Sofai whispered.

“A little,” May agreed. “Yule isn’t only about comfort. It’s also about the power of winter.”

Al lifted the deer mask.

“And the deer?”

“The deer is a Yule symbol of the forest and returning light,” May said. “It appears when the sun is getting ready to come back.”

Stefan tried on the horse mask and laughed.

“I look scary.”

“Not scary,” Sofai said. “Mysterious.”

Al turned the deer mask in his hands.

“No one would recognize you in this.”

“That’s the point of Yule mumming,” May said. “When you wear a mask, you’re not just a child anymore. You’re a Yule guest.”

The children looked at one another.

“What if…” Stefan began, “we tried?”

They didn’t go far. Just around the house. Just for Yule.

Someone rang a bell. Someone stomped a foot. Someone knocked softly on a door.

And for a moment, it felt as though the old Yule stories had stepped inside with them — the deer, the horse, the winter guests.

✨
Which mask would you choose?

Mari Lwyd is a traditional winter visitor.
A horse figure covered with cloth, moving from house to house during Yule.

Thick cardboard
Pencil
Scissors or craft knife
Glue or tape

Large white cloth / sheet / old curtain
Ribbons or fabric strips
Small bells (optional)

Printer (to print a template)
Markers or paint

You can print a template or draw it yourself.

• Draw a long horse head shape on cardboard
  (long nose, slightly open mouth if you like).
• Cut out the shape.
• Cut eye holes.
• Cut a small hole near the nose if you want to add ribbons.
  

💡 The shape does not need to be perfect.
Mari Lwyd masks were often rough and a little strange.

• Draw eyes, teeth, or lines with markers.
• Tie ribbons or fabric strips to the head.
• Add bells if you want sound.
  

Traditionally, Mari Lwyd masks were white.

• Tape or glue a stick or rolled cardboard tube to the back.
• This helps hold the head up while walking.
  
  

• Take a large white cloth or sheet.
• Place it over the mask and the person holding it.
• The cloth should cover the head and body completely,
  like a moving shape.
  
  The person inside becomes Mari Lwyd.
• 
  

• One person holds the horse head.
• The cloth covers them from head to feet.
• Mari Lwyd knocks on doors, sings, or moves playfully.
• Others can follow as singers or helpers.
  

Mari Lwyd is meant to feel:

• a little eerie
• a little funny
• and very old

Simple materials make it more authentic.

✔️ Older children & adults
✔️ Great for Yule stories and winter play
✔️ Easy to make at home