Dan y Goeden Nadolig – Under the Christmas Tree

The holiday season is already here, and if you're stymied about what sort of gift to give your favorite Welsh learner, well, ponder no more-below is a brief shopping list of ideas to get you started. Some I've mentioned in past articles and some are new, but any of them would be suitable treats either for yourself or a fellow student. Not to mention that a brand-new book makes a great basis for your New-Years' Resolution to study more Welsh!

A book makes a great present for learners at all levels. Treat yourself to a novel in Welsh to stretch your abilities, buy a new dictionary, or pique the interest of your children with a book set in Wales. For the latter, I recommend a young adult novel called A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond, a story of fantasy and family that is set in modern-day Wales but also incorporates legends of the bard Taliesin. The atmosphere is wonderful, and the attention given to the issue of Welsh language revival is fascinating for adults, though a little dated now that the novel is about 25 years old. It's a wonderful story, and you can purchase the book through the link at the bottom of this article.

An unusual and lyrical Welsh-interest book for anyone curious about Welsh culture from the perspective of one of its active modern writers is Cambrian Country by David Greenslade. Available from his website, this book looks at well-known Welsh emblems from leeks to love spoons, using photos and prose that is often biting and humorous but infused with a love for and knowledge of Wales.

A coffee-table sort of book that makes an excellent gift is Cymru O Hud or Eternal Wales. This collaboration between an author and photographer is, to put it simply, just beautiful. It's published in both a Welsh edition and an English edition, and from what I hear the Welsh is quite challenging. Both can be ordered from the publishing house Y Lolfa, which carries many of Heini Gruffudd's popular books for beginning students.

Books in Welsh or instructional books also make great gifts for those who are current students of the language or interested in picking it up. For beginners, try Teach Yourself Welsh by T. J. Rhys Jones-see the link at bottom to buy this from Barnes & Noble. There are also a number of beginning books available from Draig Goch, an importer of Welsh books and gifts, and from Y Lolfa. A dictionary is also a nice purchase for someone struggling to distinguish their L's from their LL's. Recently added to the silff lyfrau (book shelf) is Gareth King's Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary, a very helpful choice that is available from Barnes & Noble (see below). Other popular ones are the Geiriadur Mawr from Gwasg Gomer, which, true to its name, is quite large, and the correspondingly small Geiriadur Bach. If these aren't to your taste, there are many more; Harry Campbell has listed them on his site Gwybodiadur. Draig Goch and Y Lolfa, mentioned above, are good places to buy dictionaries online.

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