Plygain

The word 'plygain' possibly comes from the Latin word pullicantio, meaning 'when the cock crows at dawn';^[3] some have suggested that it could also be derived from plygu, which means 'bending', as when bending forward in prayer.^{[citation needed]} There are several variations on the word: pylgen, pilgen, plygan, plygen etc.^[3] The carols are very different from the usual English Christmas carol tradition in that every Plygain carol includes verses on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ in addition to his birth. The Plygain was the only service in the church calendar to be held at night time, as the carrying of candles and the procession leading to the church was a part of the Plygain. Its roots lie in pre-Christian celebrations.

The word is first recorded in the Black Book of Carmarthen in early Welsh manuscripts in the 13th century ("pader na pilgeint na gosber").^[4] Many Welsh Christmas carols are traditional, and could be called plygain in some circumstances, their tone being quite different to the Christmas carols that we know today, with many of the old Plygain songs in the Dorian mode.