Magic moments: What's made Christmas Day special for Irish people over the years
L-R: Stephanie Rainey, Roz Purcell, Fionnuala Moran and Kevin MacGahern are among the people telling us what Christmas means to them
"Sitting down with my wife’s family, watching a good film.
"It can be hard to pick something that everyone likes but we've found after years of perfecting the art, the one film that everyone from eight to 80 enjoys is D'unbelievables' masterpiece "D'Mother".
"Christmas for me is watching The Muppets A Christmas Carol whilst my younger sisters look at their phones and I sigh that they don't appreciate cinema."
"I love how Cork City transforms during Christmas, the lights and the positivity in the air is so contagious. I most especially love the big wheel, I go up every year with my pup Maya."
"It’s all about the build-up for me, the lunches, the parties, the hot whiskeys with friends in the bar."
"Going for a night time walk around the Lough in Cork with the lights reflected in the water and the little crib out on the island of willows. This year will be extra special as I’ll be listening to my Gaelic Folk Opera Fíoruisce - The Legend of the Lough."
"It’s our Christmas Day family walk. We’re a reclusive unit on the 25th, we invite no one over and accept no invites either - it’s a day for just the four of us, and the two dogs, of course. My parents are based in beautiful Bray in Wicklow, so each year a seaside stroll on the prom is the perfect pause in dinner prep and a necessary stretch out of whatever sofa-bound sloth-mode we’re indulging in."
"Being able to do some small act of kindness for someone simply because that is what they need at that moment. Whether they respond or not doesn’t matter. Giving is its own reward because it opens the heart and brings real joy.
"I make this mouthwatering tiramisu. I make it in bulk and give some to our neighbours. I only make it at Christmas time so my whole family associates it with Christmas now."
"Getting to spend time with my young family, playing games with them on Christmas Day and eating all the food, of course."
"As we don’t have children, we tend not to go big on Christmas, but I splurge on Christmas lights. Even if we don’t have a tree, the house is full of coloured twinkly light to keep the darkness of mid-winter at bay."
: "For me there’s no place like home for Christmas. Every year since I left Ireland 40 years ago I’ve come home for Christmas. I really believe the Irish do Christmas best - the open fires, the music, the rituals and traditions."
"Christmas begins for me when I join my lifelong friend John Spillane on stage at The Everyman. A day or two before the big day - I visit Tim Clarke and John Breen at Waterstones bookshop and read a Christmas story. Then the socialising begins – I love wandering around the flat of the town visiting my shopkeeper, stallholder, and hawker friends."
"Christmas to me is about memories. Times that have passed and people we have loved. It’s the fire, children excited and old movies. It’s the great promise!"
"Even though my kids are all grown up now we stick with our age-old family traditions every year; I wouldn’t be allowed to change them. Oh, and I love sprouts!"
"It's all about the stuffings. I make them myself; the sausage meat stuffing gets stuffed into and cooked with the turkey and just oozes flavour. I'd even make sandwiches with just stuffing, I can never get enough of it."
"We head into Dublin City for a family lunch and last-minute dash to buy presents. Christmas morning we head to Dollymount for a dip in the sea. This year will be extra special as Harry, our three-year-old, is talking about the big man Santa coming."
"It’s time with the people I love most. There’s a small break in routine that helps everyone relax which is especially important at the end of a hard training block."
"At this time of year everyone wants to give. For me, it's charity busks for homelessness that I've been a part of for the last few years, where musicians come together to spread cheer while raising funds for those less fortunate."
"As a farm family, it falls during the few weeks of the year we aren't tied to the milking parlour routine. With the cows dried off, we can enjoy a full day of quality family time with the bonus of sleeping on the next morning!"
"Whether it’s gathering with family, friends, or loved ones, the festive season creates the perfect opportunity to connect, share traditions, and create memories that last a lifetime. It’s those shared moments that make Christmas truly magical."
"Growing up in New Zealand, my mum, dad, two brothers, and I would tow a trailer over the steep Remutaka Hill, from the Hutt Valley to Featherston, in search of our Christmas tree. At a farm there you could wander the paddocks and choose your own perfect-sized tree. Dad would saw it down and we’d bring it back home on the trailer. Deciding on the right tree always took a lot of deliberation, and we’d always celebrate with ice cream for the ride home."
"Having time to switch off from work and spending quality time with friends and family, whether that’s over a pint of Guinness or an icy sea swim, it’s simply one of my favourite times of the year."
"The Box of USA assorted biscuits. It's not just the biscuits but the ritual that came with them in our house. Growing up, there was a sacred "rule" that we all had to follow: every biscuit on the top layer had to be eaten before we could move on to the bottom layer."
"My dad’s cheesecake. It’s an Australian cheesecake, he got this recipe about 20 years ago. And it’s become THE thing in our house for special occasions. Of course I could make it myself whenever I wanted but it’s best when dad does it."
"It’s absolutely my favourite time of year. From putting up the tree, wrapping presents and spending quality time with family. My sister had a little boy a month ago so this year will be even more special celebrating with little Finn."
"Christmas for me, is watching Love Actually by the stove. Movies and chilling after coming in from a run in the cold is one of my favourite things to do at Christmas."
"Family gatherings, overindulging in food, sharing stories, and the excitement and naiveness of lil’ man Alfie as he gets ridiculously excited about Santa Claus."
"On Christmas morning my Dad goes down to the sitting room to check if Santa has been. He checks first and then gives us the thumbs up. He used do it when my sister Yvonne and I were small. Now he does it as Grandad and me, my Mam, my husband Shane, and the three babas wait for Grandad to let us know that Santa has been."
"Our family comes from all over, France, London and Spain, so having everyone at home and spending quality time with them."
"The smiles on people’s faces. especially on children’s faces. To create the magic and keep traditions alive for us all."
"The decorations, the lights, the goodwill. A visit to the crib at The Lough in Cork, a spin on the big wheel on The Grand Parade, and of course the panto, with the cheers and the boos and the ‘he's behind yous’."
"It’s a special time when we all slow down, come together, eat food, reminisce about the past and make plans for the future. As I get older I really appreciate those moments as I know how fleeting they can be."
"I love catching up with friends and family over Christmas, getting dressed up, throwing on some sparkle and sharing laughs and good times together. Raising a glass to the year that’s been, and the one to come. A French 75 cocktail with a cranberry twist is the perfect mix of bubbles, gin and festive flavour."
"It’s all about my family, and settling into my mom’s kitchen at home to properly catch up. My son Jackson is three this year so he’s more aware of Santa, so that’s magical."
"Spending time with my loved ones, and this year is extra special because it’s my son, Joaquin’s, first Christmas, and mine as a first-time Dad."
"I love the whole build-up to Christmas - catching up with everyone, lunches, dinners, Damien Dempsey in Vicar Street."
"Christmas holds special meaning for me as a time to reflect and give thanks. Although I’ll be away from my family in Cameroon, I’m incredibly grateful for the support and “family” I’ve found in Ireland."
"The first appearance of what I call the Dub-a-dub-a-dum-dum Dub-a-dub-a-dum song (Wish I was at home for Christmas by Jonah Lewie). It’s an anti-war song so it doesn’t appear in November and therefore I never think it overplayed. When I hear it, Christmas has officially started for me."
"It has to be all the twinkly lights. I adore low lighting anyway and at Christmas it goes into overdrive with the lights on the trees, fairy lights strewn everywhere and candles."
"It’s the peace I get for a short time when turning off from life’s pulling and dragging in different directions. It’s the pause from the world when listening to Silent Night in the soft lighting, at our children’s Christmas Eve mass."
"For me, it's having my four boys together with us around the table and relaxing by the fire after. The one dish that has to be on my table is sausage meat stuffing, if I didn't make that there would be a huge revolt."
"Waking up and opening presents and just being with my mam and two sisters. I also love spending the whole day in my nana and grandad’s house with all of my cousins and aunties and uncles, we always have the best time together."
"Christmas means family time: humans (two adults, two adult daughters) and animals (two dogs and two cats). Doing nothing other than enjoying each other's company. Walks with the dogs, purring by the fireside with the cats."
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