Christmas at the present day in Wales is not so important as it used to be in former times, though it is still the beginning of a holiday season, and also a regular feasting-day. Morning service is conducted in the Parish Church, but is not so well-attended as in former times. It is often the custom to have an Eisteddfod or a concert in the evening in Nonconformist Chapels. In towns, the children hang up their stockings the night before Christmas, expecting to find some gifts in them next morning. Christmas is also an important day for the young maidens to kiss and be kissed. A girl places a mistletoe to hang over the chair in which a young man, whom she wishes to catch, is likely to sit. Then when he comes under the mistletoe, she kisses him suddenly, and whenever she succeeds in doing so, she claims from him a new pair of gloves.
The favourite observance for a young man to kiss a girl under the branches is also well known, and it was once supposed that the maiden who missed being kissed under the mistletoe on Christmas would forfeit her chance of matrimony, at least during the ensuing twelve months. These superstitions and favourite observances have come down from the time of the Druids.
The most interesting feature of Christmas in Wales in times gone by was undoubtedly the "Plygain" which means morning twilight. The "Plygain" was a religious service held in the Parish Church, at three o'clock on Christmas morning to watch the dawn commemorative of the coming of Christ, and the daybreak of Christianity. The service consisted of song, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, and there was at that early hour a large congregation even in remote districts, as many came from long distances, often three or four miles on a frosty night, or through snow. It was customary for each family to take their own candles with them to this early service. These candles were of various colours, and should any remain after the service was over, they became the property of the clerk. Carols were sung, and it was customary for anyone who claimed to be a bard to compose a carol; indeed, a poet was not considered a poet unless he could sing a carol. Some old people informed me that in connection with these early services there was a great deal of disorder on account of men under the influence of drink attending the Church after a night of revelry, and that this put an end to the "Plygain" in some places. In course of time the hour was changed from three to four or five, and such service is still continued in Llanddewi Brefi and other places in Cardiganshire.