Hunting on stephens day

EastTyrone

Well lads,

Possibly the wrong forum here but we will chance it anyway!

So - 2 of my great passions in life are hunting and folklore / traditions etc.

Going out for a shot on stephens day is a massive tradition around me and I presume the whole of the country??

Does anyone really know where this tradition has come from?

Was it a chance to replenish food after a big Christmas feast?

Was it a social event for all neighbours to get together?

Was it just a day that not a lot of farm work was done so boys could have a chance to get out and do some shooting?

Was it a.copy cat of the big fox hunts that would have met up today?

Or was it a slow change from the hunting of the wren which still goes on down I kerry?

As I said I really love old traditions and stuff and would be very interested to hear other people's opinions on it? I would be particularly interested to see if anyone thinks it's linked into the wren hunt as this doesn't go on around where I come from and It would be interesting to see if this tradition has actually carried on in this form!!

Cheers lads

And happy Christmas!!

Double Barrel

Happy Christmas

Growing up in East Clare and now in the North West the tradition continues.

The Wren was the Celtic symbol of the old year, and was sacrificed in ancient Druidic tradition of the Solstice/Equinox. As time progressed this practice was christianised by having the Wren responsibile for revealing the hiding place of Stephen the Saint.

Life goes on.

Interesting subject.

All the best for the new year.

Grizzly 45

Probably also has to do with the traditional "Boxing day" in the UK.
Where it also was traditional to go to boxing matches, bare-knuckle, last man standing types, dog fighting, bull baiting or hunting. Maybe just also a day to shake off the huge amounts of food consumed?

Thought the whole wren boys was supposed to be also because a wren betrayed St Stephen to the Romans, by following him when he was trying to hide? It used to be traditional to kill a wren and parade the body as well on Stephens day.

cookimonster

Boxing Day meaning was lost as modern day Christmas traditions took hold. Originally this was the day servents and workers opened gifts / tips given to them by employers / customers. This faded into history as Victorian Christmas traditions took hold, many of which evolved around sporting events.

The Industrial Revolution ushered in the rise of the middle class (middle management), fixed working weeks and regularised holidays, ie Christmas. A large proportion of society now had free time to socialise. The further development of the rail network allowed the population to travel about, previously people lived their whole lives in one small area, sporting events and fixtures became very accessible and popular.

The Victorian upper class embraced and further developed the 'Party Weekend' during which hunting/shooting would feature. Hunting was in vouge and all the fashionable people would take part or atleast accompany the hunt or shooting party. Driven bird shoots came about in the Victorian times due to the development of the cartridge and became sernomuous with the era.

Although outdoor pursuits and sports were popular with all classes during the time, hunting and shooting was still only for the elite of the landed gentry. But again the Industrial revolution began to change things as the Nouveau Riche began to rub shoulders with the Upper Class.

As decades passed by the tradition of sporting events on 'Boxing Day' endured while many of the big houses faded away (becoming to costly to maintain, while workers were no longer happy to spend thier life in service preferring the 9-5 life offered in towns and cities) and fading with them was also the exculsiveness of hunting and shooting, that is now enjoyed by all walks of life.

Double Barrel

The Irish countryside tradition is one of hunting and can be traced back through the annals of time. As practiced today it is an egalitarian rural field pursuit that demands a genuine, if selective, love of wildlife and a readiness often to get very wet and tired, sometimes for very little. The time afield is the reward.
Rough shooting for me, fox hunting for some and in the past Wren hunting for others.

When you are fed up with the troublesome present, take your gun, whistle for your dog, and go out to the field and mountain.