Christmas in Ireland is the annual festival which marks the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus and its related observances, but also incorporates some pre-Christian customs. These customs range from the traditional food and drink consumed, decorations and rituals, as well as more modern phenomena such as the Christmas day swim and annual television and radio events. The modern Irish Christmas has become more similar to that of the British and American festive period, with emphasis on gift buying and parties.[1]
Ireland is a predominantly Catholic country and Christmas plays an important role in religious aspects of Irish life, taking the place of the pre-Christian festival on the winter solstice.[4] The earliest account of the Christian celebration of Christmas in Ireland are from 1171, when the excommunicated King Henry II spent Christmas in Dublin. The next account of a Dublin Christmas is from 1458 and focuses on religious dramas known as Miracle Plays.[5]
There are traditionally large attendances at religious services for Christmas Day and Christmas Eve,[6] with Midnight Mass a popular choice for Roman Catholics.[7][8] There was also an early morning Christmas Day mass, that was believed to confer indulgences worth 20 masses.[1] Even those who did not habitually attend mass, were generally expected to do on Christmas.[9] It is also a time for remembering the dead in Ireland with prayers being offered for deceased at Mass. It is traditional to decorate graves at Christmas with a wreath made of holly, ivy,[10] yew, or other evergreens.[9] It was believed that if anyone died in the period between Christmas Day and Little Christmas on 6 January, they would enter heaven immediately.[4] Christmas day was traditionally referred to as "Big Christmas" or Nollaig Mhór to differentiate it from Little Christmas.[11] It was traditional in parts of Ulster for men to partake in an event called a "join", where they clubbed together to pay for food and drink, celebrating at any time in the 10 days of Christmas.[9]
Decorations
William Power Seed Merchants of O'Connell Street, Waterford selling Christmas trees in 1929
In the period of the mid 19th to mid 20th century, it was common for Irish households to clean and prepare the house for the Christmas period. This would include a cleaning and whitewashing the home, with decorating taking place after this. All parts of the house were cleaned, from the furniture and utensils, to sweeping the chimney.[1] The use of evergreen foliage such as holly was seen to represent Christ, the Crown of Thorns, and his everlasting life, but also has pagan roots.[6] Travelling people would sell paper decorations and "mottoes" door-to-door and at town markets from the late 19th century on. In Munster, it was traditional to fashion a decoration out of holly sprigs on to a simple wooden cross.[9] In rural homes, the byre or cow-shed, stables and other buildings for animals would be decorated to honour the role of animals in the nativity story.[7] In parts of Ireland, it was believed that at midnight on Christmas Eve, animals such as cows and donkeys could be heard to speak devotions in human speech. To hear a cockerel crow at midnight on Christmas Even was considered a good omen. Irish rural homes would also procure a large log, similar to a Yule log, called bloc na Nollaig.[9]
Mistletoe was not part of traditional Irish Christmas decoration as it is not commonly found in Ireland,[12] but has become a feature in modern times. Some areas, such as County Armagh did have the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe.[9] Along with Great Britain, Ireland saw the introduction of Christmas trees during the reign of Queen Victoria, with their prevalence increasing from the 1840s.[7] Before this, a large branch or the top of a tree was used instead.[1] Christmas trees officially go up on 8 December because according to Christian tradition the immaculate conception was on this date.[2] Trees in towns and cities are erected in central locations every year along with lights.
In Ireland the traditional crib, along with the Christmas tree are typically part of a family's decorations, typically made of wood or plaster.[1] Most towns, shopping centres, schools and churches have a large crib display. Traditionally the figure of the baby Jesus would not be added to the crib until Christmas morning,[7] and the three wise men would be placed in the nativity scene on Little Christmas.[6] Leaving decorations up after 6 January was considered bad luck, and all the holly that had been used as decorations would be burnt.[13] Local Catholic churches would often have a larger scale crib on display during the Advent period. Bringing home a few strands of straw from a church crib was thought to bring good luck, with those who lived in thatched houses adding the strands into the underside of the thatch. Since the late twentieth century, these crib displays are also placed in prominent public areas such as town squares, shopping malls, commercial buildings, housing estates, walking routes, main streets, shop windows and more. The Dublin "Moving Crib" at St. Martin Apostolate on Parnell Square which depicts the traditional Nativity story from start to finish along with more biblical scenes from the Old Testament and other secular Christmas and Fairytale scenes using mechanical figures, and also the "Live Crib" with live farm animals at the Mansion House are among the most popular and well known Christmas attractions in the city, and also some of the most famous versions nationwide.[1]
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, Daidí na Nollag (lit. father of Christmas ) in Irish, is known in The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as Santy or Santa.[14] He brings presents to children in Ireland, which are opened on Christmas morning. It is traditional to leave a mince pie and a bottle or a glass of Guinness along with a carrot for Rudolph.[8] Most big shopping centres have a Santa's grotto set up from late November so that shoppers and visitors with kids can visit Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas.[15]
Christmas Candle
The placing of a lighted candle in the window of a house on Christmas Eve is still practised. This is also called Coinneal Mór na Nollag is placed at the window to welcome people in need of shelter. Its primary purpose is to welcome Mary and Joseph.[4] In some houses, it was traditional for the youngest child[7] or the mother of the house to light the candle.[1] In many parts of Ireland, including County Armagh, it was traditional to leave the door unlocked as well. In some areas of Ireland, it was customary to light 3 candles, representing the Holy Family. If the candle was extinguished unintentionally, this was perceived as a bad omen.[9] In the period before rural electrification, these candles would have had a significant effect on the rural landscape at night.[6] There are some traditions in which the candles burned at Christmas would be used for divining the future.[12] The tradition still persists, but often using an electric light in place of a candle.[11]
Christmas swim
In the late twentieth century it has become traditional to swim in the sea on Christmas morning.[16] This is often done in aid of charity.[1][17] The Forty Foot in Sandycove in Dublin and Blackrock in Salthill, Galway are traditional venues for this where hundreds brave the cold temperatures and jump into the sea.[12]
Christmas dinner
Christmas Pudding with flaming rum
On Christmas Eve fish is traditionally eaten as a form of fasting before Christmas. In the mid 19th to 20th century, Irish families would have spent a number of weeks in the run up to Christmas "getting in the Christmas", slowly purchasing all the food and supplies needed for the holiday. In rural areas, the local shopkeeper would give loyal patrons a "Christmas box" as a gift,[6][7][4] which often included a Christmas candle and a Christmas jug. The Christmas jug was a china jug full of jam.[11] The tradition of the Christmas box largely waned after the rationing during World War II,[4] but persists in some areas of Ireland with items such as calendars and vouchers for local businesses.[1] While Christmas dinner was being prepared, it was customary across much of the country for men and boys to play a game of hurling. Other areas, such as in Ulster, shooting matches and hunting took place.[9]
The traditional Christmas dinner consisted of boiled,[9] spiced, roast beef, a roast goose and ham with a selection of vegetables and roast potatoes.[6] Beef remained the most popular Christmas meat in Ulster until into the 20th century, with boiled ox-head popular in Counties Armagh, Monaghan, and Tyrone.[9] The cooking of a turkey is a more modern, imported tradition.[7] They also have round cake full of caraway seeds. Dessert often consisted of an array of dishes, with Christmas pudding a traditional choice, which is sometimes served with brandy being poured over it and then set alight.[15] Along with the Christmas tree, it is thought that the plum pudding and mince pies came to Ireland from England.[5] It was considered unlucky to cut the pudding before Christmas Day, and if the pudding broke during cooking the baker would be dead before next Christmas.[13] In County Wexford a traditional dish known as "cuttlin pudding" was made on Christmas Eve. In County Donegal, pies in the shape of cradles to represent the manger were traditional.[9] Other desserts include Christmas cake,[15]sherry trifle, yule log and mince pies with sauces such as brandy butter.
Thousands of tins of biscuits, which are bought in advance, may then be opened and eaten. Of the traditional biscuit selections available ahead of the festive season, the Afternoon Tea variety outsells the others.[18] Chocolate selection boxes are also popular as gifts at Christmas.[8]
After Christmas Day
St Stephen's Day would be marked by the visiting of wren boys to homes to collect money for the "wren party".[6][7] It was traditional for Christians to fast on St Stephen's Day in honour of the saint's martyrdom.[4] Both The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have the tradition of Christmas mummers' play, similar to but different from the wren boys; participants would cite rhymes in exchange for "treats" in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.[13][19][20] Christmas celebrations in Ireland finish on 6 January, variously known as Women's Christmas (Nollaig na mBan), Little Christmas or Epiphany,[6] with people taking down their Christmas decorations. The period between Christmas day and Little Christmas was known as "between the two Christmases" and was a popular time for matchmaking as it was traditionally a period of leisure. It was commonly believed that only snow that fell during this period would stay on the ground.[11] On New Year's Eve 1961 RTÉ launched as the first television station based in the Republic of Ireland.
Homecoming
Adult children returning to their home was customary over the Christmas period, usually returning on Christmas Eve. Those who had emigrated generally sent gifts or money back, often referred as the "American letter".[1][9] Since the 1980s both Ireland and Northern Ireland have seen an increase in the number of Irish and British emigrants returning to the island for the Christmas period.[21] Prices increased massively over the period in 2020, due to the easing in travel restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.[22]
Christmas spend
Christmas lights, Belfast in 2009
In 2015 a survey it was found that 44% will have sufficient money in their monthly income to pay for Christmas, 23% are likely to dip into their savings, while almost half of those surveyed (45%) will have to borrow money to cope. The last 33% of all the people are unknown off their shopping spend.[23]
The big traditional Christmas shopping day used to be the 8th of December, when many schools would close for the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception and people from rural areas would head to the towns and cities to do their Christmas shopping.[1] The tradition appears to have begun in the 1940s, when the department store Clerys, under the new management of Denis Guiney, offered a refund on their customers' train tickets if they spent more than £5 in the store.[24] With the advent of online shopping and other popular shopping days such as Black Friday, the 8th of December is no longer a very busy shopping day.[25][26][27]
Holiday period
Traditionally, the holiday period was viewed as running from Christmas Day until 6 January.[4] Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day or Boxing Day are public holidays, and many people do not return to work until the next week day after New Year's Day.[19] Many multinational companies and businesses close the day before Christmas Eve and re-open the day after New Year's Day. Shop and public service workers usually return to work the day after St. Stephen's Day and sometimes on St. Stephen's Day if the Christmas sales have started.[28]
The Late Late Toy Show is an annual edition of The Late Late Show aired on RTÉ One usually on the last Friday of November and is dedicated to the showcasing of that year's most popular toys. It is regularly the most watched television programme of the year by Irish audiences,[29][30][31][32][33] and is broadcast live, meaning anything can and has happened.[34][35][36] The show, which consists of an adult-only studio audience[37] dressed in traditional Christmas attire, does not accept advertisements which promote toys for its commercial breaks but, whilst new gadget-type toys regularly break down during the live show, being featured on the programme itself has been said to have a major boost to sales of a product over the following number of weeks in the build-up to the Christmas period.[38] The attire of the presenter, namely a jumper, is also subject to speculation in the media beforehand and afterhand.[39][40][41] Advertising in 2009 cost €17,000 for each 30-second slot—this compares to €9,750 for the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final.[42]
Radio
Joe Duffy's walk around Grafton Street, Dublin is an annual tradition broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 on Christmas Eve.[43]RTÉ 2fm disc jockey Dave Fanning counts down his "Fanning's Fab 50 Christmas Trance Tunes" listeners music poll on air each year before Christmas, with U2, Touché Amoré and Alexisonfire proving most popular on a regular basis.[44] From 2008, Christmas FM broadcast Christmas songs non-stop until 26 December.[45][46]
Christmas in Poland, known in the Polish language as Boże Narodzenie or Gwiazdka, is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. The observance of Christmas in Poland developed gradually over the centuries, beginning in ancient times; combining old Polish pagan customs with the religious practice introduced after the Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church. Later influences include the mutual permeating of local traditions, lore, and folk culture. It is one of the most important religious holidays for Poles, who follow strict traditional customs, some of which are not found elsewhere in Europe.
[[File:US National Christmas Tree 1923.jpg|thumb|{{lang|da|A Christmas Tree in the US, 1923]]
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society.
The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as the Twelve Days of Christmastide, are the festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity.
Little Christmas, also known as Old Christmas, is one of the traditional names among Irish Christians and the Amish for 6 January, which is also known more widely as the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated after the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmastide. Epiphany, observed on 6 January, is preceded by Twelfth Night on 5 January. Believers prepare for Old Christmas through fasting, which is opened on Old Christmas through the consumption of Christmas dinner. The emphasis of Old Christmas celebrations is on reflecting on the birth of Jesus through attending church services and visiting with family. Popular Little Christmas customs include burning Christmas candles, singing Christmas carols, Epiphany singing, chalking the door, and having one's house blessed.
Christmastide, also known as Christide, is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches.
Twelfth Night is a Christian festival on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas, marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night as either 5 January or 6 January, depending on whether the counting begins on Christmas Day or 26 December. January 6 is celebrated as the feast of Epiphany, which begins the Epiphanytide season.
An Advent calendar, from the German word Adventskalender, is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood begin on December 1. Others start from the First Sunday of Advent.
Grafton Street is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre — the other being Henry Street. It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south to College Green in the north.
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion which are usually found in Africa and Asia. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration ; in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday.
A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmas and the greater Christmas and holiday season. Typical images on Christmas decorations include Baby Jesus, Mother Mary, angels, Father Christmas, Santa Claus, and the star of Bethlehem. Advent wreaths, nativity scenes, illuminations, and Moravian stars are popular Christmas decorations.
Kūčios or Kūtės is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania, held on December 24. The meal is a family occasion which includes many traditions of both pagan and Christian origin. Some traditions are no longer widespread and usually Lithuanians just enjoy dinner with relatives and friends while the main events and festivities are left for Christmas Day.
The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrations during this time create a peak season for the retail sector extending to the end of the period. Christmas window displays and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies are customary traditions in various locales.
Christmas is celebrated throughout December and traditionally until St. Knut's Day on January 13. The main celebration and the exchange of gifts in many families takes place on Christmas Eve, December 24. The Feast of St. Lucy, a high point in the Swedish Christmas season, is celebrated during Advent, on December 13.
Christmas in Finland begins, as is commonplace on public holidays in Finland, on Christmas Eve. Especially the evening of Christmas Eve has become the most important day of the Christmas period, and is nowadays a paid holiday in most workplaces. Unlike on other public holidays, public transportation stops almost completely on the afternoon of Christmas Eve in Finland. The Christmas period ends on Epiphany.
Christmas in France is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. Christmas is celebrated as a public holiday in France on December 25, concurring alongside other countries.
Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of these traditions vary by country or region, while others are practiced virtually identically worldwide.
The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2020.
The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2022.
↑ Morahan, George (24 November 2019). "1m Jacob's biscuits, 839,682 bags of Tayto: the brands we're buying this Christmas". Retrieved 24 November 2019. Ireland's largest wholesaler forecasts sales of 20,000 tins of Jacob's biscuits, including a million individual biscuits, with Afternoon Tea Tin (351,658 biscuits), Chocolate Kimberleys (133,200) and USA biscuits (227,000) the most popular.
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