How do you wish someone Merry Christmas in Irish? Nollaig Shona Duit. And that’s a Happy, not a Merry, Christmas!
It wasn’t until St. Patrick brought Christianity to the island in A.D. 432 that the Irish Celts abandoned their pagan ways and even learned about the birth of Christ. Today, Christmas is a big holiday in Ireland, with many interesting and fun traditions, some old, some new.
In no particular order, here are a few:
Christmas Whitewashing
For thousands of years, a December Celtic farm tradition held that families would clean and whitewash every building on their farms. After the coming of Christ, it became a symbol of purifying the buildings for the coming of the Savior.
Holly and Ivy
Traditionally, families would trek into the country to cut some of the plentiful holly and ivy to decorate mantelpieces, make into wreaths, or fashion into sprigs to grace doorways. Want a harbinger of good luck for the next year? Find a holly bush festooned with berries. Because of its thorns, holly hunters wear heavy coats to keep from being pricked. Mistletoe is rarely seen, perhaps because in ancient times it was a symbol of paganism.
Yet, traditions do change. One commentator suggests that because of National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation”, many Irish now put up Christmas trees with outside lights and decorations. They go up on December 8, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
“Little Christmas”
Also called “Women’s Christmas”, comes on January 6, and it’s women’s day off. The women who’ve done all the cooking and preparing for the holiday now go out, meet, and have fun while the men stay home, do the housework, and take down the decorations. But don’t remove your holiday cheer before January 6. It’s bad luck.
The Christmas Candle.
Putting a candle in the window is a symbol of hospitality. It says that, unlike the Bethlehem inn that turned away Mary and Joseph, your household welcomes the Holy Family.
The Midnight Mass
Whether Protestant or Catholic, the midnight Christmas Eve service brings out folks who haven’t set foot inside a church since Easter. Churches are packed as people dress up, sing Christmas carols, and listen to live music. Sometimes, the service is candle-lit. It brings everyone back to what the season is really about—the coming of Christ to earth.
Christmas Presents
Children wake up on Christmas morning to find Santa has left presents at the foot of their beds, often in a sack. One or two gifts might be under the tree, but they’re unwrapped.
The Winter Warmer
Here’s how to enjoy it best: Start with a brisk walk, breathing deeply of the cold, Irish winter. Then take whiskey, lemon, cloves, and wee bit of brown sugar. Mix well and heat. This hot “whiskey punch” will warm your insides and put a smile on your face.
Spiced Beef
Once used to preserve meat, this dish livens up Christmas dinner tables all across Ireland, especially in Cork. One recipe calls for beef cooked with brown sugar, molasses, mace, cloves, bay leaves, garlic, allspice, peppercorns, salt, and of course, a bottle of Guinness. Other items on the Christmas feast menu might include roasted goose, potatoes, cranberry sauce, sausages, fruit cakes, and plum pudding. Now I’m hungry.
The Christmas Day Swim
On Christmas morning, a wee bit of madness sweeps the land. At the Forty Foot Rock south of Dublin, hundreds of people jump into the Irish Sea dressed only in their bathing suits. The same thing happens all across Ireland. With air temperatures in the thirties or forties (Fahrenheit) and water temps in the fifties, it makes for a cold dip. And that flash of red you saw racing for the water? It was a swimmer wearing a full Santa suit. Many take the polar dip for charity. Others just for the sense of accomplishment.
Awful Christmas Sweaters
After that bracing dip in the Irish sea you might be a bit chilly. If you received one particular traditional gift—a hideous sweater—you can warm up not only your body, but your embarrassed face as well.
That’s our list. We skipped caroling, biscuit tins, listening to “The Fairytale of New York”, leaving biscuits and whiskey (or mince pie and Guinness) for Santa, and the Leopardstown horse races on St. Stephens’ Day, December 26. Before we close, I leave you with this Irish Christmas blessing:
The light of the Christmas star to you,
The warmth of home and hearth to you,
The cheer and good will of friends to you,
The hope of a childlike heart to you,
The joy of a thousand angels to you,
The love of the Son and God’s peace to you.
Nollaig Shona Duit and Happy Christmas!
Mark is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, a novel of historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. To learn more, see www.MarkFisherAuthor.com/Marks-Books.
