Even Historians like Christmas - but what are Irish Traditions.

CDfm

Christmas has always been a big celebration and it is now fairly generic and it got me to thinking how little I know about Irish Christmas traditions.

My mum from West Cork was always nostalgic for the Wren Boys as it represented Christmas for her.

Sociologists will tell you that in agrarian societies that celebrations were times to distribute food etc - so a lot of Irish traditions could be based on that

http://ukiahcommunityblog.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/gift-economy-or-an-agrarian-society-of-small-proprietors-and-cooperatives/

Anyway, that would cut no ice with my Mum -the Wren Boys calling at her Dads house were Christmas for her - and in Cork they were a big thing.

So here is are some pics and an article about the Wren Boys and its tradition in Cork.

What were Irish Christmases like ? Did druids do Santa ?


[Embedded Image Removed]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Wren Boys[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] 1 : 2 [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Wren Boys
Taken from the Journal of the Cork Archaeological and Historical Society, 1894, Vol. III, p. 22[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]“St. Stephen’s his day” is a red-letter event in the canaille calendar of Cork and neighbourhood. When the “wran-boys,” as they are locally termed, have captured a wren, the luckless bird is borne through the streets in a sort of triumphal progress, secured in a bush of holly or other evergreen, which is usually garnished with streamers of coloured ribbons, or variegated papers, according to the resources of tile exhibitors. In early morning the city resounds with the din of the wren-boys (which term, by the way, embraces matured manhood), who are making a house to house visitation, singing at each halt a chant, something as follows:- [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]“Mr. Blank is a worthy man,
And to his house we've brought the wran;
The wran, the wran that you may see
Is uarded by the holly-tree. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Sing holly, sing ivy, sing ivy, sing holly,
To keep a had Christmas it is but a folly;
For Christmas comes but once a year,
And when it comes it brings good cheer.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The wran, the wran, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen's his Day was cot in the furze;
And though he is little, his family’s great,
So arise, good lady, and give us a trate.
Sing holly, sing ivy, etc. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Yet if you do fill it of the small,
It will not do for our boys at all;
But if you fill it of the best,
We hope in heaven your soul may rest.
Sing holly, sing ivy, etc. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]This lyric, with its refrain, is long drawn out, and as its aim is the acquisition of largesse, the ballad does not fail to make eulogistic reference to the good cheer provided by the worthy master and mistress of the house, and their high reputation for hospitality during the festive season. Richard Dowden, mayor of Cork in I845, issued a proclamation during his mayoralty forbidding, on the score of cruelty, “the hunting of the little bird on St. Stephen’s day by all the idle fellows of the country,” a precedent which has never been followed by any of his successors in the civic chair. The origin of this brutal custom is not known. Professor Ridgeway, writing to the Academy, suggested the theory that the death of the wren symbolizes the death of winter; other correspondents of the same journal traced analogy between the Cork wren-boys and the Rhodian swallow-boys and the crow-boys of ancient Greece who went around with similar begging- songs. Goldsmith, while dealing elaborately with the superstitions connected with other birds, does not notice the custom ill his brief article on the wren; but the English General Vallancey, who spent a considerable time in Cork and the neighbourhood, and became an enthusiastic student of the Irish language and archaeology, asserts that the Druids regarded the wren as a sacred bird, which caused the early Christian missionaries to place it under ban, and issue an edict for its extermination. Windele, the Cork antiquary, however, assures us that Vallancey “dreamt things as visionary, and disported ill fancies as wild and incongruous, as any of the Irish Keatinges or O'Hallorans who had preceded him.” Another origin of the wren-slaughter is advanced in Hall’s “Ireland,” which contains a sketch of the St. Stephen’s Day ceremony by the distinguished Cork painter, Maclise. “ As to the origin of the whimsical but absurd and cruel custom,” writes Mr. Hall, “we have no data. A legend, however, is still current among the peasantry which may serve in some degree to elucidate it. In a grand assembly of all the birds of the air, it was determined that the sovereignty of the feathered tribe should be conferred upon the one who would fly highest. The favourite in the betting-book was, of course, the eagle, who at once, and in full confidence of victory, commenced his flight towards the sun; when he had vastly distanced all competitors, he proclaimed ill a mighty voice his monarchy over all things that had wings. Suddenly, however, the wren, who had secreted himself under the feathers Of the eagle’s crest, popped from his hiding-place, flew a few inches upwards and chirped out as loudly as he could, “Birds, look up, and behold your king.” In other parts of Ireland it seems the wren and robin find special favour. Mr.Watters of the Dublin University Zoological Society, asserts in his “Birds of Ireland” that the most heartless youngster who indulges in “practical ornithology” with the eggs and young of other birds, regards the redbreast as too sacred to be molested. “Wild and untutored,” he writes “ask him his reasons for allowing it to remain in safety, and in many parts of Ireland you are simply answered
“The robin and the wren
Are God’s two holy men”[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]apparently a local variant of' the Lancashire folk-rhyme:
“Cock Robin and Jenny Wren
Are God Almighty’s Cock and Hen”[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]In view of the fine Corsican spirit in which the wren is annually done to death in the South of Ireland vendetta, it is needless to say that the rustic rhyme quoted by the Dublin ornithologist has no place ill the bird-lore of these parts. Nor does the pretty fiction of the robins forming a coverlet of leaves for the dead Babes in the Wood, so generally potent for their protection elsewhere, invest them with any peculiar sanctity in the eyes of the average Cork person[/SIZE][/FONT]

http://www.from-ireland.net/custetc/wrenboys.htm

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1].

The idea is that anything History & Christmas related and what the traditions were and where they might have come from. So it might not be limited to Ireland alone - so if there is anything.

We have different traditions in Ireland , English & Scots as well - so its quite diverse.

To everyone on H&H - Happy Christmas.




[/SIZE][/FONT]

Micilin Muc

Great post CDfm!

One tradition that springs to mind is that of placing a candle in the window. Another is leaving the door on the latch on Christmas Eve.

I don't know if the same traditions are in other countries!

EDIT: I just came across an article by James Mooney in an 1889 edition of the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, plenty of info about Irish festive traditions. Here are some of the more interesting points:

With regard to the origin of these winter holidays, it may be stated that,
like nearly every other festival in the modern calendar, they ar simply
heathen festivals which the church, being unable to suppress, found it
necessary to tolerate and finally to invest with a Christian significance.

The custom of secretly putting presents into stockings belongs properly
to the feast of Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus), December 6, and is supposed
to be typical of that saint's practice of secret almsgiving. The transfer of
the custom from the lesser to the greater holiday was natural and easy.
In Ireland, as in other countries of Europe, the children hang up their
stockings on Christmas eve to receiv the gifts which they ar told Santa
Claus puts into them during the night, climbing down the chimney for the purpose.

The Christmas tree is not a feature of the Irish observance.

The "Christmas log" and "Christmas candle," which ar kept burning from Christmas to Twelfth-night, ar common to Ireland, England and Scotland, the former
being found also in France and among the Letts.

In Connemara the people "draw blood" on Christmas as on Saint
Martin's day. The animal is kild the day before, but is not previously
"named " as is the case when dedicated to the saint. So deeply rooted is
this custom that poor people eagerly buy from the farmers old sheep
which ar almost worthless, in order to kil them for this occasion, and those who ar without money wil bind themselvs to do a certain amount
of work in return for such an animal. While this eagerness is due in great
part to the natural desire to hav a good dinner on Christmas at least, it
may point also to sacrificial rites in connection with the old druidic cele-
bration of the winter festival.

Every family that can possibly do so procures a large log known as the
bloc na _Nodlog (bloc na Nollag) or " Christmas block," to burn in the hearth-
fire upon this day.
The log is usually from the trunk of the resinous
bog deal, now found only below the surface of the bogs. It is procured
some time in advance, so as to be thoroughly dry for the occasion, and is
sometimes kept burning at intervals until Twelfth-night. As previously
stated, this custom, with that of the Christmas candle, is found also in
other countries, and is evidently a survival of an ancient fire celebration.

CDfm

Micilin Muc wrote: »

Great post CDfm!

One tradition that springs to mind is that of placing a candle in the window. Another is leaving the door on the latch on Christmas Eve.

I don't know if the same traditions are in other countries!

Thanks - but where does spiced beef come from ??

Christmas pudding - a medieval mincemeat ?

So before turkey -what was there ??

Fratton Fred

The Christmas tree is a German tradition and was introduced into the UK by Prince Albert who had them around Windsor castle and Balmoral at Christmas time.

After his death, queen Vic kept up the practice and it took off from there.

CDfm

Fratton Fred wrote: »

The Christmas tree is a German tradition and was introduced into the UK by Prince Albert who had them around Windsor castle and Balmoral at Christmas time.

After his death, queen Vic kept up the practice and it took off from there.

Any idea when they first came to ireland and were there any tree decorating traditions pre that - druids maypoles morris dancers ?

Culture is a bit of an export based on transactions too.

So music is a big thing too. Any ideas.

Ms. Chanandler Bong

THE CANDLE IN THE WINDOW

The placing of a lighted candle in the window of a house on Christmas eve is still practised today. It has a number of purposes but primarily it was an symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking for shelter.

The candle also indicated a safe place for priests to perform mass during Penal Times when this was not allowed.

A further element of the tradition is that the candle should be lit by the youngest member of the household and only be extinguished by a girl bearing the name 'Mary'.

THE LADEN TABLE

After evening meal on Christmas eve the kitchen table was again set and on it were placed a loaf of bread filled with caraway seeds and raisins, a pitcher of milk and a large lit candle. The door to the house was left unlatched so that Mary and Joseph, or any wandering traveller, could avail of the welcome.

THE WREN BOY PROCESSION

During Penal Times there was once a plot in a vilage against the local soldiers. They were surrounded and were about to be ambushed when a group of wrens pecked on their drums and awakened the soldiers. The plot failed and the wren became known as 'The Devil's bird'.

On St. Stephens day a procession takes place where a pole with a holly bush is carried from house to house and families dress up in old clothes and with blackened faces. In olden times an actual wren would be killed and placed on top of the pole.

This custom has to a large degree disappeared but the tradition of visiting from house to house on St. Stephens Day has survived and is very much part of Christmas.

DECORATIONS:

The placing of a ring of Holly on doors originated in Ireland as Holly was one of the main plants that flourished at Christmas time and which gave the poor ample means with which to decorate their dwellings.

All decorations are traditionally taken down on Little Christmas (January 6th.) and it is considered to be bad luck to take them down beforehand.

Ms. Chanandler Bong

Also found this, had never heard it before:
The History of the Christmas Carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

During the centuries when it was a crime to be Catholic and to practice one's faith, in public or private, in Ireland and England, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written as a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn the beliefs of their faith. It was a memory aid at at time when being caught with anything in writing indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could not only get you imprisoned, it could get you hanged.

The songs gifts are hidden meanings to the teachings of the faith. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, it refers to God himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person.
A Partridge in a pear tree = Jesus Christ, the son of God.
Two turtle doves = The Old and New Testaments
Three french hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the theological virtues.
Four calling birds = The four Gospels and/or the four Evangelists.
Five golden rings = The first five books of the Old Testament (The Pentateuch).
Six geese a-laying = Six days of creation.
Seven swans a swimming = The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven Sacraments.
Eight maids a-milking = The eight Beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing = The nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit (sometimes also listed as the nine classifications of angels).
Ten lords a-leaping = The Ten Commandments.
Eleven pipers piping = The eleven faithful apostles.
Twelve drummers drumming = The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.

CDfm

Wow catreyn -thats really something.

There is something about the ritual and tradition and the simplicity and detail of the 12 days of Christmas shows the sheer intelligience of its composer/author.

I can imagine a Medieval Mick Jagger rather than a boy band or X factor composer

CDfm

The Vikings invented Santa and here is where some of the traditions might be from

How we inherited Christmas from

THE VIKING YULE

The celebration of Yule in Scandinavia predates the Christian holiday by thousands of years

Winter Solstice, the time of the year when the days get longer and the sun begins to return was truly a cause for celebration among our ancestors in Scandinavia. Their Midwinter Feast lasted at least twelve days. So there are the twelve days of Christmas.

Most Christmas traditions are rooted deep in ancient Yule rituals, many coming from the Vikings. Historic evidence indicates that Jesus was not born on December 25, but in the Spring. Why is then Christmas celebrated on December 25? A common theory is that the Christian church designated this date as the day of Christ's birth to coincide with the Nordic Midvinter Solstice celebrations, as well as with a Roman midwinder fest called Saturnalia, in order to "facilitate" the conversion of "heathens" to Christianity.

At Midwinter, or Solstice, the Vikings honored their Asa Gods with religious rituals and feasting. They sacrificed a wild boar to Frey, the God of fertility and farming, to assure a good growing season in the coming year. The meat was then cooked and eaten at the feast. This is the origin of today's Christmas ham in Scandinavia.

During the festivities they burned a giant Sunwheel, which was put on fire and rolled down a hill to entice the Sun to return. According to one theory, this is the origin of the Christmas wreath.

Another Viking tradition was the Yulelog, a large oak log decorated with sprigs of fir, holly or yew. They carved runes on it, asking the Gods to protect them from misfortune. A piece of the log was saved to protect the home during the coming year and light next year's fire. Today, most know the Yulelog as a cake or cheese log rolled in nuts.

Even the Christmas tree goes back to pre-Christian times. The Vikings decorated evergreen trees with pieces of food and clothes, small statues of the Gods, carved runes, etc., to entice the tree spirits to come back in the spring.
Ancient myths surround the Mistletoe. The Vikings believed it could resurrect the dead, a belief based on a legend about the resurrection of Balder, God of Light and Goodness, who was killed by a mistletoe arrow but resurrected when tears of his mother Frigga turned the red mistletoe berries white.
The Yule Goat, (Swedish julbock, Finnish joulupukki, Norwegian julebukk) is one of the oldest Scandinavian Christmas symbols. Its origin is the legend about the Thundergod Thor who rode in the sky in a wagon pulled by two goats. An old custom was for young people to dress up in goat skins and go from house to house and sing and perform simple plays. They were rewarded with food and drink. The Yule Goat at one time also brought Yule gifts. This character was later replaced with "jultomten" (Santa Claus).
Our pre-Christian ancestors would dress up someone to represent Old Man Winter, who was welcomed into homes to join the festivities. Dressed in a hooded fur coat, Father Christmas traveled either by foot or on a giant white horse. Some think that this horse may have been Odin's horse Sleipnir and that Father Christmas was originally Odin, who was often depicted with a long beard. When the Vikings conquered Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries, he was introduced there and became the English Father Christmas.
Today, Viking Yule is celebrated in reconstructed Viking Villages such as Foteviken in Skåne and Jörvik in England, where visitors in December can make Christmas decorations with the Vikings, listen to Viking legends and hang their wishes in Odin's Yule Tree. Viking Yule is also celebrated by Asatruers, who revive the old Nordic religion, called Asatru.

Of course, our Scandinavian forefathers were not alone in celebrating the Winter Solstice. All over the world, and throughout history, people have celebrated the sun's return after the winter with a wide diversity of rituals and traditions. And still are

http://skandland.com/vikxmas.htm

Fratton Fred

I'm not wishing to contradict a poster, but I think the 12 days of Christmas might be an urban myth.

There is nothing in that that is uniquely Roman Catholic so none of those teachings would need to be hidden. I could understand if it was written in a country where Christians as a whole were persecuted, but not just Roman Catholics.

loldog

Here's one for ye that ye may not have heard of. In our family years ago there was a tradition on the night of Nollaig na mBan (Jan 6th).

A small candle would be lit for each member of the family. Whoever's candle went out first would be the first person to die in the family, and so on...

I found a reference to it here:

To this day, it still scares me to death. A candle would be placed in the cake to represent each member of the family. In the evening, the candles would be lit and then watched. As each candle went out, either extinguished by a stray draft or burnt itself down, that would be the order of death.

Anyway, one year it was my sister's candle that went out first and she freaked out so the tradition was discontinued after that. Nice cheery festive stuff, eh?:)

.

CDfm

That would freak me out too.




The 12 days of Xmas gets blamed for a lot and traditions start somewhere

http://content.pncmc.com/live/pnc/microsite/CPI/2010/index.htm

or this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJoXCwkPVi8

JustinDee

CDfm wrote: »

Any idea when they first came to ireland and were there any tree decorating traditions pre that - druids maypoles morris dancers ?

Probably the same time if its true. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom in those days.

Ms. Chanandler Bong

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I'm not wishing to contradict a poster, but I think the 12 days of Christmas might be an urban myth.

There is nothing in that that is uniquely Roman Catholic so none of those teachings would need to be hidden. I could understand if it was written in a country where Christians as a whole were persecuted, but not just Roman Catholics.

It's ok, I'd never heard it before I read that article either

Manach

Good thread here.
Just to re-iterate some of the other posters, in Cork there is the tradition of the Wren Boys, Lighting the Christmas Candle, and spice beef (though the latter I've never had a taste for).

Ponster

catreyn wrote: »

During the centuries when it was a crime to be Catholic and to practice one's faith, in public or private, in Ireland and England, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written as a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn the beliefs of their faith.

Not true I'm afraid but a nice story all the same

Good explanation here but is pretty long/detailed.

Fratton Fred

I was visiting relatives at their pub
in Ballyconnel, Co Cavan one year and a group of lads came in with the wren on a stick, but they stayed for a while and played some trad songs. I thought they were called mummers?

Fratton Fred

JustinDee wrote: »

Probably the same time if its true. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom in those days.

I think that was pretty much it. The tradition, I guess spread globally as well because it is popular in the US. Maybe their Irish and or German migrants took it there with them?

Ponster

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I was visiting relatives at their pub
in Ballyconnel, Co Cavan one year and a group of lads came in with the wren on a stick, but they stayed for a while and played some trad songs. I thought they were called mummers?

If they had a wren on a stick then they were certainly the Wrenboys. Mummers are almost the same thing (minus the wren) but also take part in folk drama (enacting old legends and such via song) and were seen at all times of the year but mostly during special occasions like May Day.

Think of them as the Irish version of English Morris dancers.

Fratton Fred

Ponster wrote: »

If they had a wren on a stick then they were certainly the Wrenboys. Mummers are almost the same thing (minus the wren) but also take part in folk drama (enacting old legends and such via song) and were seen at all times of the year but mostly during special occasions like May Day.

Think of them as the Irish version of English Morris dancers.

It could well have been both together actually
A visit to my brother in law's pub tends to affect one's memory somewhat.

It was nice to see though, proper non touristy tradition.

Tabnabs

CDfm wrote: »

The Vikings invented Santa and here is where some of the traditions might be from

An interesting post, but to be pedantic: (;))

Santa Claus has many roots in Saami (indigenous people of "Lappland") heritage - flying reindeer, coming down the chimney etc. Nothing to do with the vikings sadly.

For the Vikings, their celebrations started on Mother Night - the 21st December. This was a holiday period, a time for feasting and gathering with family and friends. The word Yuletide (loosely translated as Christmas time) was well known to the Vikings. December 25th belongs to another prechristian deity - Mithras.

The yulelog is a Scandinavian tradition, but the sunwheel is German.

Mistletoe does feature in Viking mythology, but has no link to Yule and does not influence as heavily as it does in Druidic traditions.

The image of the "jultomten" comes from 1840s Denmark, (not very viking really ) and the traditions surrounding tomten or nisse are still very strong in Scandinavia. A nice piece here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte

CDfm

Dyflin wrote: »

An interesting post, but to be pedantic: (;))

Happy Yuletide Dyflin and may Odin look kindly on you

CDfm

Manach wrote: »

Good thread here.
Just to re-iterate some of the other posters, in Cork there is the tradition of the Wren Boys, Lighting the Christmas Candle, and spice beef (though the latter I've never had a taste for).

Maybe some pigs tongue, head and crubeens would be more to youyr liking.

For some , pigs cheek is a delicasy.

(I saw that on Australian MasterChef)

To our ancestors, Irish Christmas recipes didn't come in beautiful books filled with pretty pictures. They didn't need to. The winter festival was a time to celebrate in time-honoured fashion, using cooking methods that had been handed down through the generations. Geese, ducks, great sides of beef, sheep and pork were turned on the roasting spit in the halls of chieftains in early Christian and medieval times.
In later centuries, the spit had become the kitchen oven and, by the late 18th century, vegetables and fruits began to feature more heavily on the table during the Irish Christmas.
Recipes using beef suet, mixed dried fruit and whiskey in cakes and puddings - not dissimilar to those still used every year - started to acquire a seasonal status.
Preparations began weeks in advance for these cakes and puddings, as did the slaughter of cattle and pigs. The latter were shared out with others. While the majority poor simply shared with their immediate family and neighbours, the traditional division among the gentry in the early 19th century was as follows:

• The head, tongue and feet: the blacksmith
• the small ribs attached to the hindquarters: the tailor;
• the kidneys: the doctor
• the udder: the harper
• the liver: carpenter
• the marrowbone: the odd-job man
• the heart: the cowherd
• a choice piece each: the midwife and the stableman
• black puddings and sausages: the ploughman.

To the gentry of Ireland, Christmas food meant enormous feasts of meats, fishes, vegetables, rich creamy sauces and all manner of sweet delicacies washed down with copious quantities of alcoholic refreshments.
But to the majority of our ancestors, Irish Christmas recipes produced rather more hearty fare. While they were less rich than the foods enjoyed by those further up the social ladder, they were nonetheless exceptionally luxurious to the palate of a population that lived at subsistence level (or worse) for much of the year.

This comes from here and there are also some "traditional" recipes


http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-Christmas-recipes.html

Spiced beef for St Stephen's Day

Irish spiced beef is traditionally served on St Stephen's Day (26th December). This is the case in most of Ireland but in co. Cork, spiced beef is not just one of the most popular Irish Chrismas recipes, it is also a dish served all year round. Although our ancestors would have prepared their own dish, and many families still do, you can find well-prepared beef joints, liberally covered in spices, in butchers throughout Ireland in the two weeks before Christmas.

Ingredients: for 20-25 servings

6lb (2.7kg) middle rib of beef, boned and rolled
1lb (450g) salt
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 turnip, roughly chopped
1 onion, cut into rings pieces
1 onion, finely minced
4 oz (110g) moist brown sugar
6 tsp mixed spice
0.5oz (13g) saltpetre
1 bay leaf
allspice, black pepper, cloves, mace, mixed herbs, nutmeg, thyme
fresh finely chopped parsley.

Method:

To boil the beef, make a bed of carrots, turnips and ringed onions at the bottom of a pan. Place the beef on top, add the bay leaf, and cover with cold water. Boil for 30 minutes per 1lb/450g, plus an extra 30 minutes. Remove from pot and place between two plates. Put a heavy object on top of the plate and leave for 12-15 hours and then tie the beef with string.

Mix the herbs and spices with salt, sugar and minced onion. Cover the meat in this mixture, rubbing it in well for several minutes. Place into an earthenware crock and cover. Turn the meat once a day, every day for a fortnight and rub in the spice mixture each time.

mathepac

This is a North Tipp / East Clare / East Galway (think the areas surrounding Lough Derg) version of the song I remember being sung by the wran boys on their house-to-house travels on St. Stephen's Day. I don't remember hearing the "holly and ivy" chorus. This was sung outside the house in anticipation of an invitation to come inside.

The man of this house is a worthy man,
And to his house we've been led by the wran;
The wran, the wran as you can see
Is guarded by the holly-tree.

Christmas comes but once a year,
And when it comes it brings good cheer.
The wran, the wran, the king of all birds,
On Stephen's Day was caught in the furze;
So up with the kittle and down with the pan*
And give us a penny to bury the wran.

If you don't fill us or give us too small,
It will not do for our boys at all;
But if you should fill us and give us of your best,
We know in God's heaven your soul will rest.

*Traditionally when preparing food and drink over an open fire, "the kittle" was taken from the hearth and hung up on the crane to boil and "the pan" went down on the hot embers to fry / cook / bake, etc.

Presumably the "penny" was to wake the wran at the local pub.

There was another "standard" wran-boys song that metamorphosed into other things over the years sung by Bing Crosby, John Denver and many others. It started :

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you!

That's the only verse I can recall.

In calling to houses, traditionally the first person of the troupe through the door and the last to leave was the youngest. I have no understanding of this observance but assume it's connected with the baby Jesus.

Christmas Eve was a special time with the big red Christmas candle being prepared and placed in its specially carved and decorated turnip-holder, being lit at dusk by the youngest member of the house-hold. This had to stay burning in the window until Nollaig na mBan.

Mid-night Mass used to be magical until it had to be moved to Christmas Evening to avoid the the presence and behaviour of the drunken louts.

Nollaig na mBan or Little Christmas I remember as being a "ladies day" with the focus on de-decorating and family visits. Families usually gathered in one house bringing the last of the Christmas goodies, food and drink, to cut down on food preparation.

My understanding of the traditional Irish Christmas foods (fruitcakes, ham, spiced beef, preserved fruits, etc) is that these were laid down immediately after harvest in preparation for a mid-winter feast. Preserved in suet, alcohol, syrup, salt, saltpetre, etc. these were brought out in the depths of winter to break the dull monotony of winter peasant fare.

CDfm

In Cork the Examiner publish the Holly Bough as a Christmas Paper and have done since 1897.

Father read the Cork 'Holly Bough' and records newly bought by Mother were played on the gramophone. Nobody went visiting on that day and no visitors came. It was a day for the family.

Being of such cultural importance the National Library of Australia holds copies

http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1843795


Prepering the turkey was really a mans job.

week before Christmas, Father killed three turkeys and a goose. He nailed pieces of wood together and made two strong boxes into which he placed the turkeys 'feathers and all'. The lids were nailed down, labels nailed on and the addresses of our cousins in Dublin written. Father then took them to the station to post. In return we got a huge brack about the size of a motor car wheel which was made to order by the famous Johnston Mooney and O'Brien bakers.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/acalend/XmasEastCork.html

jonniebgood1

The biggest one I know is Midnight mass- usually accompanied by an odour of alcohol!

Attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is probably the most widely practised of all Irish Christmas traditions. Usually the church will be crammed to the rafters with the largest single congregations of the year and it is a particulary social occasion, as families that have come together for the holiday meet friends and neighbours they may not have seen for a year.

Although midnight mass is a religious occasion, it is one that non-religious folk sometimes attend because they enjoy the chance to sing some carols, often accompanied by live music, to exchange Christmas greetings and to play their part in their local community.

Holly. A holly wreath remains a popular front-door adornment and dates back to the days when most of our ancestors would have decorated their home with this freely available plant. Hung heavy with berries, the red and glossy green sprigs were a sure way to make festive even the humblest of homes.

and Some more recent developments copied from http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-Christmas-traditions.html :

The tree and the tinsel. Decorating a tree in the dead of winter was a Pagan custom that has survived with little variation except that the dressed tree (now draped in tinsel) makes its appearance earlier and earlier each year! As to the rest of the decorations, they are now put up in many homes and offices at the beginning of December and remain in place until the 6th January.

This business of decorating the home with tinsel, fairy lights and festive ornament is a relatively recent phenomenon (especially when they are festooned all over the front of a house). Before the 20th century, it was only shops, churches, and the homes of the gentry that were decorated so lavishly. The ordinary family made do with holly and mistletoe.


Irish Christmas cards. The sending and receiving of festive greetings in paper format is hugely popular in Ireland. It isn't the oldest of Irish Christmas traditions by any means but the practice of exchanging cards has persisted since the early 20th century, perhaps because repeated waves of emigration continued to separate so many families who would otherwise have spent Christmas together. Sending a carefully chosen Christmas card with a letter filled with news and gossip was a way to stay in touch. The card would be placed on public display while the letter would be stored safely but readily available for regular re-readings. Today, the Irish Christmas cards business is huge with cards exchanged between work colleagues, neighbours and friends, as well as family members near and far.

MarchDub

Dyflin wrote: »

. December 25th belongs to another prechristian deity - Mithras.

Not sure if this came from Wikipedia? but the issue of Mithras and Mithraism is not a done deal. Mithraism only reached its zenith in the Roman Empire around the third and fourth centuries AD and may in fact have borrowed the Dec 25 from the Christians. There is a debate about this anyway with some sources pointing to the date on the Christian calendar predating the Mithras connection.

But how Christians came up with that date for Christmas is also uncertain - it may have been because early sources used March 25th as the date of the death of Jesus and also the Annunciation. So going 9 months ahead of the Annunciation to Dec 25th may have been the reasoning.

MarchDub

My two favourite parts of Christmas - plum pudding and crackers - came over from England. According to info on my crackers box [how about that for original source material] the tradition of crackers started with Tom Smith in Clerkenwell in London in 1847 who wrapped up small cakes in twisted packages and put two strips of thin card pasted with saltpetre in the package to make a sparkle when they were pulled apart to open the twisted package. And the rest - as they say - is history.
No idea if this is true - but it makes a great story.

Another note - in Dublin there was a tradition of preserving eggs for Christmas. I remember both my grandmothers had large vats of eggs in a saline? solution being preserved because the price of eggs soared at Christmas and eggs were needed for all the Christmas baking.

jonniebgood1

Im not sure if its an Irish tradition but I have heard of the day decorations come down, 6th January, being referred to as womans christmas and the tradition would be for men to do the cooking & cleaning on this day. I presume the logic is that it is the better species reward for keeping her house in order over the festive period.

Fratton Fred

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Im not sure if its an Irish tradition but I have heard of the day decorations come down, 6th January, being referred to as womans christmas and the tradition would be for men to do the cooking & cleaning on this day. I presume the logic is that it is the better species reward for keeping her house in order over the festive period.

No, no, no, it is not an Irish tradition and anyone who observes this is err err a traitor.

Jesus man, are you trying to get us all into trouble! (insert big winking smile here)

MarchDub

Fratton Fred wrote: »

No, no, no, it is not an Irish tradition and anyone who observes this is err err a traitor.

Jesus man, are you trying to get us all into trouble! (insert big winking smile here)

:eek: