An Irish Christmas, Yesterday and Today, Part II
In this post, Christian author Mark Fisher concludes his look at an Irish Christmas, Part II. (Click here for Part I.)
The Christmas Day Swim. On Christmas morning, a bit of madness sweeps the land. At the Forty Foot Rock south of Dublin, hundreds of people jump into the Irish Sea dressed only in their bathing suits. The same thing happens all across Ireland. With air temperatures in the thirties or forties (Fahrenheit) and water temps in the fifties, it makes for a cold dip. And that flash of red you saw racing for the water? It was a swimmer wearing a full Santa suit. Many take the polar dip for charity. Others just for the sense of accomplishment.
The Winter Warmer. Here’s how to enjoy it best: Start with a brisk walk, breathing deeply of the cold, Irish winter. Then take whiskey, lemon, cloves, and wee bit of brown sugar. Mix well and heat. This hot “whiskey punch” will warm your insides and put a smile on your face.
Spiced Beef. Once used to preserve meat, this dish livens up Christmas dinner tables all across Ireland, especially in Cork. One recipe calls for beef cooked with brown sugar, molasses, mace, cloves, bay leaves, garlic, allspice, peppercorns, salt, and of course, a bottle of Guinness. Other items on the Christmas feast menu might include roasted goose, potatoes, cranberry sauce, sausages, fruit cakes, and plum pudding. Now I’m hungry.
Awful Christmas Sweaters. After that bracing dip in the Irish sea you might be a bit chilly. Well, if you received one particular traditional gift—a hideous sweater—you can warm up. The more ridiculous, the better.
James Joyce’s “The Dead”. Instead of the annual U.S. fascination with Dickens’s “The Christmas Carol”, a few denizens of Dublin join together for a reading of “The Dead”, a short story from Joyce’s Dubliners collection.
St. Stephen’s Day Horse Races. Every December 26, south Dublin hosts horse races at Leopardstown. For 20,000 Dubliners, going off to the races after Christmas has become an annual tradition. But perhaps they’re just looking for a respite from relatives?
The Wrenboy and Strawboy Procession. Another, rather odd tradition also occurs in Ireland on St. Stephen’s day. Before recent times, on December 26 wrenboys would hunt and capture a wren then tie it to a pole—sometimes alive, sometimes dead. The boys would parade the wren ’round the town, singing a certain song, of which there are many variations, and asking for donations. (“A penny or tuppence would do it no harm” goes one verse, pleading for a live bird affixed to the pole.) The money collected would host a dance sometime in January. A sword-bearing, caped Wren Captain led the wrenboy procession, some of whom were musicians. Others wore costumes of straw, and these were called strawboys. With identities hidden by costumes, wild revelry and tricks played on friends sometimes followed. The origins of this affair seem to have been lost in time, with some claiming Celtic mythology, and others attributing it to a Christian influence.
That’s our list. We skipped caroling, biscuit tins, and listening to “The Fairytale of New York”. Before we close, I leave you with this Irish Christmas blessing:
“The light of the Christmas star to you,
The warmth of home and hearth to you,
The cheer and good will of friends to you,
The hope of a childlike heart to you,
The joy of a thousand angels to you,
The love of the Son and God’s peace to you.”
Nollaig Shona Duit and Happy Christmas!
Mark is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, a novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. To learn more about his book, follow the link above.