Our Christmas traditions - Where they all began
The Christmas Tree and Christmas Decorations
Christmas trees were introduced to the wealthy of Britain and Ireland in the early 1840s.
The custom was introduced to Britain from Germany by Prince Albert —Teutonic trees had been decorated with apples, nuts and paper flowers since the 16th century.
The Christmas tree became increasingly common in Ireland throughout the 1840s, while in 1848 an image of the British royal family with their decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle created a sensation when it was published in the Illustrated London News.
However, for the ordinary people of the land, nature usually provided a rich treasure chest of embellishments. Clodagh Doyle, Curator at The National Museum of Ireland — Country Life in Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo, says evergreens such as holly, ivy and laurel were brought into homes and used as decorations: “Most people would have used berried things— holly and ivy would be brought into the house, and children would have used starch to whiten the leaves and make a snow effect,” she explains.
Children also would save bits of gold and silver cigarette paper, to make the paper chains which for many years criss-crossed living rooms in a familiar Christmas X.
Irish children were often told that an angel stood on each spike of the holly leaves and that on Christmas Eve no prayer was left unanswered. Around the end of the 19th century, she says, peddlers starting selling paper decorations.
However, mistletoe was not traditionally a very common decoration in Ireland, she says: “It seems to have come in from England— it’s a ‘younger’ decoration in Ireland.”
Christmas Cards
The first commercial Christmas card was devised by the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry Cole in 1843. The card was a timesaving device intended to spare the busy Cole from writing individual letters at Christmas.
The first Christmas cards were illustrated by John Callcott Horsley in London, with a picture of a family drinking wine together. Christmas cards rapidly became so popular that by 1880 the Post Office advised people to “Post Early for Christmas.”
Early Christmas cards tended to use flowers or fairies rather than religious or snow themes, though the 1880s saw a curious trend where cards sported dead robins — pictures of picturesque birds killed by the December cold seemed to appeal to sentimental Victorians. Christmas cards quickly became useful substitutes for the Christmas letter or personal visit.
Their popularity increased with developments in colour printing and the introduction of the penny post in 1840.
“Bringing Home the Christmas”
This was a very common phrase in rural Ireland in the 1950s and 60s, says Daly: “People would have quite literally gone to the market to ‘bring home the Christmas’.
Country people would bring butter, geese, hens and vegetables to sell and the money they made would be used to purchase spices, dried fruit, sugar, whiskey, meat, toys and sweets!”
The Christmas Box
The Christmas box was presented to good customers by the local shop-keeper as a reward for their loyalty during the year: “The shopkeeper would give you a box with a small cake or some sugar or sweets or whiskey.
It was a little Christmas present in return for your custom throughout the year— the size of the Christmas Box was a reflection of the significance of your custom to the shop” Daly says.
The Nativity
Many believe that the first crib was created by St Francis of Assisi, to depict the birth of Christ. Most families in Ireland had a crib, and the children would collect moss and ivy to decorate it.
The Baby Jesus would never be placed in the crib until Christmas Morning.
The Candle in the Window or Coinneal Mór na Nollag
On Christmas Eve a big candle was left to burn in the window, often lit by the youngest member of the family. “The idea was to light the way of the Holy Family who were travelling the road. It was also lit as a welcome to visitors,” explains Daly.
“Sometimes there would be three candles lit because of the fact that Joseph, Mary and Jesus were looking for a place to stay— this was to show they were welcome in an Irish home, even if they could not find a place to stay in Bethlehem!”
Lighting the candle was a particularly important tradition in her childhood home recalls best-selling author Alice Taylor, who still puts a candle in every window of her house in Innishannon each year on Christmas Eve.
“The candle was lit before the supper on Christmas Eve when dusk was gathering. In some houses it was a privilege extended to the youngest child, but in some places it was the eldest or the father of the family who lit the candle.
“The candle is very symbolic of the light which is at the heart of Christmas — the idea was to light the way for the Holy Family as they travelled the roads in search of shelter. We would all gather round and my mother would sprinkle the holy water on us. That’s a tradition I brought to my own family— we sing ‘Silent Night’ as we light the candle.”
Food on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
On Christmas Eve, many people in Ireland attended confession and midnight Mass, following which a traditional supper of saltling (white fish) with potatoes and onion sauce was popular.
Although turkey may seem to be a Christmas Day staple, it’s actually a relatively recent import, says Daly— in fact here in Ireland, roasted or spiced beef was traditionally at the centre of the Christmas Day dinner, she says.
“Turkey only came here in the early 1900s, mainly from England. In Ireland people usually ate spiced beef or roast beef — many butchers still do spiced beef, it’s very much an Irish speciality. “
Another favourite was the Christmas Goose which was probably the most popular fowl before the turkey. Poitín was the big drink at Christmas time— many people would get it in for the Christmas season, she says.
Why not check out: Bake your own Christmas cake with Rachel Allen
Decorating the Byre
In many rural areas, farmers and their families didn’t just decorate their own homes, they also gave special attention on Christmas Eve to the byre or cow-shed, stables and places where animals were housed.
“The donkey and the cow and the sheep were part of the Nativity,” explains Doyle. “So at this time they would get special care.”
Wren Boys
On December 26, St Stephen’s Day, the ‘Wren Boys’ paraded an effigy, or the body of the bird, from house to house. The wren, a tiny creature, was supposed to have alerted murderous soldiers to the presence of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who was in hiding.
In another story, a wren foiled a surprise attack by Irish forces on Cromwell’s troops — the bird betrayed the rebels by making a noise which woke sleeping sentries. Dressed in disguise, the Wren Boys would carry the wren’s body in a small, decorated box, singing a song which went as follows: ‘Up with the kettle and down with the pan: Give us some money to bury the wren.’
At each home they would ask for a penny to ‘bury the Wren’. In return they would then entertain the household with their songs and jokes. The money was usually spent a few days later on a ‘Wren Party’.
- National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Tel: (094) 90 31755.
