Christmas in Ireland

Irish Christmas traditions

Most countries who celebrate Christmas have their own unique way of doing it and Ireland is no different. Here are some uniquely Irish traditions, some going back centuries and some more modern for the upcoming festive season.

1: Christmas is long in Ireland

Christmas is a long holiday in Ireland. Perhaps it’s a legacy and tradition of emigrants returning home for the festivities but many people in Ireland take the entire Christmas week off and many businesses close for the period. It’s not uncommon for Irish people to take 1 or even 2 weeks break from work over the period. Hence there is a lot of travelling throughout Ireland to meet up with family and friends.

2: The Toy Show

The Late Late show is one of the world’s longest running chat shows and its two and half hour show on a Friday night has been a staple of Irish TV listings since the 60’s. Once a year, in the run in to Christmas it spends the entire show focusing on nothing but toys, showing them off, children playing with them and talking about their favourites, it’s all about toys. The Late Late toy show is by far Ireland’s most popular TV show of the year and upwards of half the country will watch it on the night or watch back on the RTE player. There isn’t a TV show like it anywhere in the world and for many Irish people, it marks the beginning of the run in to Christmas

3: The Christmas Candle

Traditionally, Irish houses would have placed a candle in the window or outside the door on Christmas Eve. Various reasons have been given for this but the main ones seems to be to provide a light of welcome to Mary and the baby Jesus or alternatively a light of welcome for returning emigrants. Often the candle would be lit by the youngest person in the house able to do so.

4: Midnight Mass

Another great Irish tradition is for families to attend Midnight Mass in the local church. The sounds of carols, families reunited and the church lit with candles can evoke many fond memories for Irish people. Sadly in recent years the mass has been brought forward to 8 or 9 pm both to facilitate attendance and also to avoid another long standing tradition, the rather drunk person who has just fallen out of the pub at closing time standing or teetering at the back of the church!!

Joking aside, even though attendance at church has fallen greatly in recent years, Christmas is the one time of the year that many people still make the effort to visit the church and masses can be extra busy on Christmas Day.

5: Christmas Day Swims and the Goal Mile

We all eat and drink far too much over Christmas but fortunately there are plenty of Christmas traditions in Ireland to work off a few pounds. For anyone near the sea then a Christmas Day swim is an option. Bear in mind however that the sea will be extremely cold and for many people it is less a swim and more a quick run in and out of the water. Hot whiskeys are recommended afterwards

A more modern alternative is the GOAL mile. This is a now regular events in most towns in Ireland on Christmas Day mornings. As its name suggest, it’s a one mile walk or run sometimes at an athletics track and all you have to do is turn up and make a donation to an Irish charity called GOAL. It’s a great way to work up an appetite and do some good at the same time.

6: The Crib

Whilst every church in Ireland will have a crib representing the baby Jesus and the stable at Bethlehem on or near the alter, many towns will also have one in a public place. Perhaps the most famous crib in the Living Crib in Dublin which has real animals. Many of the public ones will also have a collection box for local charities in place. Families will still visit the crib in their local church and some areas have a tradition of taking a little bit of straw from the crib to ward off bad luck for the next year. It’s also extremely common for Irish homes to have a small crib somewhere in the house at Christmas to remind all where Christmas began.

7 The Panto

This isn’t unique to Ireland, it is an imported tradition from the UK. However a visit to a local theatre to see a Panto is a long standing Christmas tradition for Irish families. For those not familiar with a Panto, expect a loose telling of a fairy tale with song and dance for the kids, a baddy and some innuendo and topical jokes for the adults. Some element of audience participation is expected and if you go to a major one in the big cities expect some minor celebrity singer or dancer to be the lead star. It’s also a great way to get kids into the theatre, just don’t expect anything deep and meaningful, this is all about Christmas fun.

8: Wren Boys

This is a post-Christmas tradition in much of rural Ireland, especially in the West of Ireland and Kerry in particular. It’s also got more popular in Ireland in recent years. Locals dress up in fancy dress and parade from house to house and pub to pub singing and playing music.

9: Food glorious food

Christmas dinner in Ireland is not that dissimilar to that in the UK or other parts of the world. Expect turkey and ham, Brussels sprouts, potatoes and at some stage, a plum pudding will appear. There are some Irish specialities however, a joint of spiced beef is common in much of the south, especially Cork. Keep an eye out for Irish smoked salmon and brown bread as well. Lastly, it’s very hard to get through the Christmas season in Ireland without having a Tayto sandwich. Crisps, white bread and butter is a fond memory of many Irish people growing up.

10: Little Christmas

If the Toy show marks the beginning of the Christmas period then Jan 6th marks the end. Traditionally known as little Christmas or Women’s Christmas it was a traditional night out for Irish wives and mothers after all their work over the Christmas period. It’s still observed in much of Ireland, especially in the Cork area with hotels and restaurants hosting specific events