The Mari Lwyd

The Mari Lwyd (pronounced as “Lloyd”) tradition out of Wales
Is eerie and mysterious. Now here’s what it entails:
A horse’s skull upon a pole is ribboned, reined, and belled.
A sheet of white conceals the one by whom the pole is held.
This “mare” will walk with folk who mostly wear archaic garb
And sing around the village. If they come into your yard,
Prepare yourself for battle—not with vi’lence but with verse,
Exchanging rhyming insults to outwit it (could be worse),
And afterward, you’d better let the party come inside
And offer it your spirits (drink, not souls; you needn’t hide).
We haven’t traced the origin of this peculiar wassail,
But might I say, the Mari Lwyd’s a pretty awesome fossil.