Hen Galan for Kids – Why One Welsh Valley Celebrates New Year in January
Most people in Wales celebrate New Year on 1 January. But in one beautiful valley in Pembrokeshire, families have kept an old tradition alive and celebrate Hen Galan — the Old New Year — on 13 January. Why? The answer involves two calendars, a change made more than 250 years ago, Welsh songs, children walking from door to door and a tradition called Calennig.
Imagine that everyone else has already put away their New Year decorations. School has started again. The Christmas holidays feel finished.
Then, almost two weeks after 1 January, your community celebrates New Year all over again.
That is what makes Hen Galan one of Wales's most unusual living traditions.
What does Hen Galan mean?
The Welsh words Hen Galan mean Old New Year.
| Welsh | English |
|---|---|
| Hen | Old |
| Calan | The first day of a month or year |
| Hen Galan | Old New Year |
The best-known surviving Hen Galan celebration takes place in Cwm Gwaun, also known as the Gwaun Valley, in north Pembrokeshire.
Where is Cwm Gwaun?
Cwm Gwaun is a rural valley in north Pembrokeshire in west Wales, not far from Fishguard.
The Welsh name means Gwaun Valley.
It is a landscape of:
- farms;
- woodland;
- small roads;
- scattered houses;
- hills and valleys.
Its relative isolation helped local customs remain strong for generations.
Why does Cwm Gwaun celebrate New Year on 13 January?
To understand Hen Galan, we need to travel back to 1752.
Britain was changing the calendar it used.
For centuries, Britain had used the Julian calendar. It then changed to the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar we normally use today.
Changing calendars meant that several dates effectively disappeared from the British calendar in 1752.
Old customs did not disappear overnight, however. In Cwm Gwaun, the tradition of marking New Year according to the older date survived.
What is the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars?
A calendar tries to keep our dates matched with Earth's journey around the Sun.
The Julian calendar was introduced in Roman times. Its system was very good for its time, but it made the average calendar year slightly too long.
That tiny error did not seem important at first. But tiny errors can build up over hundreds of years.
The Gregorian calendar used a slightly different leap-year rule to keep dates more closely aligned with the solar year.
Hen Galan tradition
Modern New Year's Day
What happens on Hen Galan?
Traditionally, Hen Galan was a community celebration.
Children set out
Children travelled around houses and farms in the valley.
They sang New Year songs
Traditional Welsh verses wished the people inside the house a happy and successful year.
They received Calennig
Householders rewarded the children with gifts. Historically these might include food or coins. Today sweets or money may be given.
Families gathered
Homes and farms could become places for eating, visiting and celebrating.
Music and celebration continued
Singing and community celebrations could continue later into the day.
Why were children important to Hen Galan?
Children are one of the most important parts of the tradition.
Rather than simply waiting at home, they travelled through the valley, knocking at doors and singing New Year verses.
Museum Wales preserves a New Year collecting song remembered by a woman born in 1880 near Fishguard. She recalled hearing children singing it at doors in the upper Gwaun Valley during her childhood.
This means we are not simply guessing what happened. Recorded memories and songs connect today's tradition with children who were doing something very similar more than a century ago.
What is Calennig?
After singing, children traditionally received a Calennig.
Calennig means a New Year's gift.
Depending on the period, children might receive:
- coins;
- bread;
- cheese;
- cakes;
- sweets;
- other small gifts.
In some parts of Wales, Calennig also involved children carrying a decorated apple supported on three little sticks.
What did children sing?
Traditional songs varied. There was not one single Hen Galan song sung by every child in Wales.
The usual message was simple:
- the New Year has arrived;
- good wishes to everyone in the house;
- health and success for the year ahead;
- and sometimes a polite request for Calennig.
A local history account from the Gwaun Valley remembers children ending their songs by wishing the household a happy New Year.
Happy New Year!
For Hen Galan, children are essentially carrying a New Year greeting from house to house.
Is Hen Galan still celebrated today?
Yes.
Hen Galan remains a living tradition in the Gwaun Valley.
Children still take part in door-to-door singing, and Calennig remains part of the celebration.
That is what makes Hen Galan particularly interesting. It is not simply something that historians found in an old book. It is a historical tradition that has continued into modern Wales.
Hen Galan compared with ordinary New Year
| Modern New Year | Hen Galan |
|---|---|
| 1 January | 13 January in the Gwaun Valley tradition |
| Based on the modern Gregorian calendar | Connected with an older calendar tradition |
| Countdown at midnight | Traditional door-to-door songs form an important part |
| “Happy New Year” | “Blwyddyn Newydd Dda” |
| Modern gifts and celebrations | Calennig gifts traditionally given to children |
Can you solve the calendar mystery?
🗓 The clue
Britain changed the calendar it used in 1752.
🏞 The place
A rural Welsh valley kept an older New Year tradition.
🎵 The evidence
Songs and memories collected from local people record children celebrating New Year.
🍬 The surviving custom
Children still sing and receive Calennig.
Now ask yourself: What makes a tradition survive? Is it the date? The song? The place? Or the people who keep teaching it to the next generation?
🗓 Old Calendar or Modern Calendar?
Choose a clue and discover where it belongs.
🧠 Hen Galan Quiz for Kids
Hen Galan – The Welsh Old New Year
Name: ________________________ Date: ______________
Modern New Year: ____ January
Hen Galan: ____ January
Place: ______________________
County: ______________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Draw children visiting a Welsh farmhouse on a winter morning.
Useful Welsh words
Old New Year
New Year's gift
Year
New
Good
Valley
prydain.co.uk • Free Welsh children's learning resource
Hen Galan activities for primary school
📅 Make two calendars
Compare a modern January calendar with the Hen Galan date.
🎵 Write a New Year verse
Write four lines wishing a household health and happiness.
🗺 Find Cwm Gwaun
Locate Pembrokeshire, Fishguard and the Gwaun Valley on a map of Wales.
🍎 Connect with Calennig
Make a paper model of a traditional decorated Calennig apple.
👴 Ask about family traditions
Interview an older relative about how New Year was celebrated when they were young.
🕰 Then and now
Compare a child's Hen Galan morning 100 years ago with New Year's Day today.
Questions about Hen Galan
What is Hen Galan?
Hen Galan is the Welsh Old New Year tradition famously celebrated in Cwm Gwaun in Pembrokeshire.
What does Hen Galan mean in English?
Hen Galan means “Old New Year”.
When is Hen Galan?
The Gwaun Valley tradition celebrates Hen Galan on 13 January.
Why is Hen Galan celebrated on 13 January?
The tradition is connected with the older calendar customs that survived after Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
Where is Hen Galan celebrated?
It is most famously associated with Cwm Gwaun, or the Gwaun Valley, near Fishguard in north Pembrokeshire.
What do children do on Hen Galan?
Children traditionally travel from house to house singing Welsh New Year songs and receiving gifts known as Calennig.
What is Calennig?
Calennig means a New Year's gift. Historically children might receive food or coins, while modern gifts may include sweets or money.
Is Hen Galan still celebrated?
Yes. Hen Galan remains a living tradition in the Gwaun Valley.
Is Hen Galan the same as Calennig?
No. Hen Galan is the Old New Year celebration. Calennig is the Welsh New Year gift-giving and collecting tradition that forms part of Hen Galan celebrations.
What calendar do we use today?
The United Kingdom uses the Gregorian calendar.
Sources and further reading
The history in this guide is based on Welsh tourism, museum and local-history sources. The SVG, calendar game, quiz and printable are original Prydain resources.
