Preparations begin weeks in advance. There is the
physical preparation of foods and gifts, decorating
the home, and also a spiritual preparation that begins
with the start of Advent...additional prayers added to
the morning and evening devotions, the children urged
to say extra Paters and Aves.
In bygone days, everyone, lapsed or faithful, was
expected to attend chapel during the Advent season.
On farms, a thorough cleaning of the house and
farmyard ensued, including the whitewashing of the
house, inside and out. Barns and outbuildings received
an outside coat. Women scrubbed the house till it
gleamed, scoured every pot and pan, laundered all
garments and table linens.
To children fell the task of gathering and making decorations for the house.
Berry holly was prized as was long ivy tendrils which
were used to make garlands. Loose holly and ivy, and
laurel leaves were added using a packing needle and twine.
A few days before Christmas, some of the family went
to town to "bring home the Christmas." The Christmas
Market (Margadh Mór...Big Market) found country people
bringing butter, eggs, hens, geese, turkeys, though
turkey has only recently become a popular festival
food, vegetables and other farm produce, and
exchanging these for their Christmas purchases.
Shopkeepers made presents of seasonal dainties to their customers.
The Christmas Market provided much goodwill and
excitement from the street stalls and sideshows.
Publicans enjoyed a brisk business.
| ...Ross Castle, Co. Kerry... |  |
Christmas Eve
Christmas was a family affair. Sons and daughters
working away from home were expected to spend time
with their parents, especially Christmas Eve. All
tried to finish their work early in order to reach
home before nightfall. The last of the preparations
were concluded, usually for the next day's feast,
the most plentiful and extravagant one of the year.
Roast or boiled beef seems to have been the most
popular Christmas dish, with roast goose next. A
boiled ox head was a favorite dish in Counties Armagh,
Tyrone, and Monaghan.
Shortly after dark a large candle, often in a sconce
made from a turnip,
(directions for a turnip sconce is on the craft page)
was placed in a prominent window and lighted to show
the Holy Family that there was room and a welcome in
that house. The candle would be extinguished at dawn,
before going to the early Mass, or if the family was
fire conscious, at midnight upon retiring. In some
households, candles would be lit for the family members as well.
The traditional Christmas Eve meal consisted of fish,
usually hake or cod with creamed potatoes. This was a
fast day, and often no food was taken until the main meal.
After the candle was lit, the real celebration began.
The iced Christmas cake, for weeks primed with good
Irish whiskey, was cut, and tea was poured. The
children enjoyed sweets around the fire until it was
time for prayers and bed. Sometime during the night,
the rotund visitor made an appearance, and children
woke to stockings filled with an assortment of practical but welcome gifts.
 |
...Crest of the O' Murchadha Clan (Murphy) ... |
Christmas Day
Christmas Day began with several family members
attending early Mass, often before daylight. Boys in
some parts, brought hurleys to church for a game
afterward. But in most communities, Christmas was a
family festival where people remained at home
following the Mass, enjoying the quiet gathering
and the lovingly prepared dinner.
Christmas morning comes the preparation of the main meal,
often eaten at noon or in the early afternoon.
Preparations may have begun weeks in advance for this feast,
particularly if mince pies with homemade mincemeat,
Christmas cake or spiced beef are served.
The spiced beef is brisket which has been spiced,
using a sugar, allspice, kosher salt mixture, then
boiled and pressed. It is sliced cold and is
wonderful. Other items one might find on an Irish
table might include smoked salmon with brown bread,(on the recipe page)
a potato dish such as colcannon,(on the recipe page)
turkey, a ham, sausages, cranberry sauce, bread sauce,
and vegetables. For dessert, other selections could
include plum cake(on the recipe page) or apple shortbread pie.
This one-crust pie is found all over Ireland and is truly
delicious! The Christmas cake is usually cut in the
afternoon of Christmas Day. During the meal Christmas crackers,
a wrapped tube that "pops" when pulled and contains tiny toys, are pulled.
Gifts, often monetary, are customarily given to those
who perform services...the postman, one's barber,
hairdresser, etc...before Christmas, but St. Stephen's Day
December 26th was the traditional day of gift-giving.
St. Stephen's Day
December 26th was celebrated uniquely in Ireland.
Hundreds of "wren boys" searched the countryside in
the days preceeding Christmas for the hapless little
bird who was knocked on the head and placed in a box
with holly or upon a pole decorated with holly.
The wren boys then paraded up and down the streets
in petticoats or other outlandish getup and sang the
wren song at various households along the way.
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze;
Though his body is small, his family is great;
So, rise up good woman, and give us a treat.
Up with the kettle, and down with the pan:
Give us some money to bury the wren.
The words varied from locale to locale, but the above
is a reasonable translation. I cannot but wonder if
this custom has seen a decline in popularity with the
current trend favoring animal rights.
Christmas carols were never as popular in Ireland as
elsewhere; in fact, most of them are English carols.
One such carol is Cornish. Ma Gron War'n Gelinen
celebrates the nativity of Christ and the older veneration of the evergreen.
Now the holly bears a berry
as white as the milk,
And Mary bore Jesus,
who was wrapped up in silk.
And Mary bore Jesus
our Savior to be,
And the first tree in the greenwood,
it was the holly.
Now the holly bears a berry as
black as the coal,
And Mary bore Jesus who died
for us all.
Now the holly bears a berry
as blood it is red,
Then trust we our Saviour
who rose from the dead.
A few seventeenth century carols survive, particularly
in the county of Wexford. An even older carol,
"Curoo, Curoo," survives.
Putting up a Christmas tree is a relatively modern
custom, initiated in the sixties with the advent of
television. Previously, homes were decorated with
boughs and garlands of laurel, holly and ivy.
Christmas has become commercialized in Ireland as the
rest of the world. But here, the festival as a family
occasion comes first. And the religious significance
is at the heart of each family celebration.
 |
Beannachtai diut ...Slán go fóill (Blessings to you...bye for now) ... |
There is a village in Kerry, not far from sweet Tralee.
'Twas there that I was born, the spot most dear to me.
"Twas there I spent my youthful days, those happy days to me.
In dear old Abbeydorney, that lies near sweet Tralee.
On Sundays I would roam about through the plains of Ballysheen.
Hunting for the hare that strayed from distant preserved Creveen.
How it used delight my heart and fills me now with glee!
In dear old Abbeydorney, that lies near sweet Tralee.
By Banna's banks I often whiled those happy hours away.
Dancing with the colleens, who made my heart feel gay.
The strand was filled with fair ones, as fair as eye could see.
Who came from Abbeydorney, that lies near sweet Tralee.
Many the pleasant dance I had on the hills of Laccamore.
When I think of the merry times I had, sure it makes my heart feel sore.
For a ball or dance or wedding was never held without me.
In peaceful Abbeydorney, that lies near sweet Tralee.
By Aulane's green fields and Shannow's steep banks,
~~Author Unknown~~
where the trout swims to and fro.
I hope again to see.
My dear old Abbeydorney.
That lies near sweet Tralee.
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