
Mae'r Flwyddyn yn Marw ('The Year is Dying') is a song that comes from the Welsh Christmas tradition. It doesn't mention Christmas so much as the departure of the old year and arrival of the new, being rooted in the older Christmas traditions where the celebration of the new year and the religious holiday were celebrated together as one long festival. The tune has a strong pulse, and clearly lends itself to being played as a waltz-style dance. I reproduce the words below:
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Mae'r flwyddyn yn marw, ei hamser a ddaeth,
O fil o gymylau ei hamdo a wnaeth.
Mae'r gwynt yn galaru a'r glaw red yn rhwydd,
A'r clychau yn tewi, ffarwel yr hen flwydd.
Ond dyma flwydd newydd yn dyfod yn llon,
A phawb fel ei gilydd rônt groeso i hon.
Mae'r ifanc a'r henwr yn ysgafn ei droed,
A'r clychau yn canu mor llon ag erioed.
Mae'r diog yn sefyll, ond amser ni saf,
Ei hydref na'i aef, ei wanwyn na'i haf.
Cynyddu wna'r diwyd a'r gonest o hyd,
O flwyddyn i flwyddyn hyd ddiwedd y byd.
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and here's a translation, courtesy of Richard Gillion:
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The year is dying, its time has come,
From a thousand clouds its shroud is made;
The wind is mourning, and the rain is running freely,
And the bells have fallen silent, farewell to the old year.
But here is the new year coming in peace,
And everyone alike is greeting it.
The young and the old are lightening their steps,
And the bells are chiming as merrily as ever.
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The lazy stand still, but time does not stand,
Its autumn or its winter, its spring or its summer.
The diligent are increasing still, so are the honest,
From year to year until the end of the world.