All wrapped up for the season

Swathed in ivy and decorations, and with a warm fire, Bride Park Cottage is open to visitors every year, says Charlie Wilkins.

ALTHOUGH unashamedly pagan, decorating homes is central to the celebration of Christmas. Even before the introduction of the Christmas tree, the Irish did as they had for hundreds of years — they brought indoors all available winter evergreens.

Indeed, fetching such greenery from the woods may have been responsible for the origin of the phrase ‘bringing home Christmas’.