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An eisteddfod (IPA: , /ə(i)ˈstɛðvɔd/ being usual in Welsh) (from the Welsh verb-noun eistedd, "sit"; the plural is eisteddfodau) is a typically Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. The tradition of such a meeting of Welsh artists dates back to at least the 12th century when a festival of poetry and music was held by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth at his court in Cardigan in 1176, but with the decline of the bardic tradition fell into abeyance. The present-day format owes much to an eighteenth century revival arising out of a number of informal eisteddfodau.

The National Eisteddfod

The most important eisteddfod is the National Eisteddfod of Wales, held annually in the first week of August and usually alternating between North and South Wales, and taking place entirely in the Welsh language.

The Urdd Eisteddfod

Another important eisteddfod in the calendar is 'Eisteddfod Yr Urdd', or the youth eisteddfod. Organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru, (the largest youth movement in Europe). It brings together children from the age of 7, up to young adults of 24, from all across Wales, for a week of competition of singing, recitation, dancing, acting and musicianship in the summer half-term school holiday. This is the largest youth festival in Europe. Regional heats are held in advance of the final competition. As with the national eisteddfod, the Urdd Eisteddfod moves location, although with the establishment of the Urdd headquarters in the Wales Millennium Centre, the eisteddfod will return to Cardiff every four years.

The International Eisteddfod

Another Eisteddfod is the International Eisteddfod, held annually in Llangollen. Choirs, singing groups, folk dancers and other groups attend from all over the world, sharing their national folk traditions in one of the world's great festivals of the arts. It was set up in 1947 and begins with a message of peace. In 2004, the eisteddfod was (unsuccessfully) nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Terry Waite, who has been actively involved with the eisteddfod.

Other eisteddfodau

Smaller-scale local eisteddfodau are held throughout Wales: advertisements for them may appear in the back of the newspapers or on posters locally. Schools hold eisteddfodau as competitions within the school: a popular time for this is on Saint David's Day.

Malad City, Idaho also hosts a small Eisteddfod around the first part of July. Malad City claims the largest, per-capita, concentration of people of Welsh ancestry outside of Wales Their Eisteddfod began with Welsh pioneers to the Malad Valley in the late 1800's, but stopped with the outbreak of World War I. In 2004 they reinstated this celebration calling it the [http://www.welshfestival.com Malad Valley Welsh Festival.

Australia

Eisteddfods (Australian plural) have also been adopted by Australian culture. Much like the Welsh original, Eisteddfods are competitions that involve testing individuals for singing, dancing, acting and musicianship. However it is often a competition reserved for children at primary or secondary school. Often the prize for such an event is a scholarship to pursue a further career. Many young Australian actors and dancers participate regularly in the various competitions scheduled throughout the year. The most popular is the Rock Eisteddfod, which involves 40,000 students from 400 schools in its yearly competition. Eisteddfods in past years has suffered controversy with some parents being overly zealous and occasionally violent when their child loses an event.

National Eisteddfod venues

External links

Welsh language | Welsh culture | Festivals in Wales | Cultural festivals | Arts in Wales

Eisteddfod | Eisteddfod | Eisteddfod | Eisteddfod

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Eisteddfod".

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