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Nollaig shona
Chughaibh
(Happy Christmas) |
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Preparations for Christmas in Ireland start early, particularly in preparing
special food for the festive season. Christmas
Puddings and Christmas cakes rich with
fruit and nuts and moistened with Guinness (Irish stout) and or brandy are
made and stored to mature. Later the cakes are covered in
marzipan icing then
royal icing and decorated in all manner
of ways. Perhaps applying icing with an icing nozzle or simply roughing
up the surface with a knife to be the base for a snow scene. Edible
silver balls can be used, or plastic figures of snowmen, santas or Christmas
trees.
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Mincemeat is made using dried fruit and suet.
In the olden days it really contained minced meat.These days it can
also be bought ready made in supermarkets. This is later used for making
mince pies, or larger mince tarts. Traditionally
shortcrust pastry is used but these days
anything goes, flakey pastry,rough puff pastry
or even filo. The pies tend to get eaten at tea times, or after carol
singing with brandy butter and /or
cream.
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Spiced beef is made too. It used to be made
at home but these days most butchers have their own secret recipes and you
can buy the meat "ready spiced" from them. It takes about three weeks for
the beef to absorb the spices before it's cooked. It leaves the meat
pink in the centre with an almost black "crust" of spices and a quite unique
flavour. It can be served hot or cold and many Irish people in Southern
Ireland will eat it at some time over the festive season.
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A lot of Irish houses still have an open fire, which is lit to keep
the room warm and cheery over the winter months. Irish people burn a lot
of Turf (from the peat bogs which fill most of the centre of Ireland.Turf
is traditionally cut and dried in the summer months. Turf briquettes,
which are a modern compressed version are commonly available to
buy. Turf does not give out a high temperature so a lot of people use
coal too, and or wood) Chestnuts can be bought and cooked in the fire which
are delicious, and I can remember cooking toast on a toasting
fork!
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Christmas cards get sent, overseas ones sent surface mail have to be posted
very early, way before December.
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Children send letters to Father Christmas usually by throwing the
letter into the back of the fire where it get sucked up the chimney
by the draft and taken "to Father Christmas " in the North
Pole.
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At the beginning of December children start opening the windows on their
advent calenders revealing a Christmas picture or perhaps uncovering a
sweet.Schools put on their end of term nativity plays, or concerts and there
are carol services to go to. Some people will go out carol singing to raise
money for charity, either singing door to door or at some place like a shopping
centre.
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Handel's "Messiah" is often preformed in the run up to Christmas,
(sometimes as a sing-a-long) and in fact the first performance of it
ever was in Dublin. The organ which Handel played can still be seen
in St. Michan's church on the bank of the river Liffey
in Dublin.
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Families decorate their houses. Streamers are put up made of paper,
or foil, candles may be put out, some people decorate their
windows.Wreaths may be hung on the
door.
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Shops decorate their windows, some putting on fabulous displays. Many
streets are decorated in cities with coloured lights and often even small
towns will sport a Christmas tree strewn in fairy lights. Many large stores
hire people to act as Father Christmas, dressed in the red and white
outfit and listening to the children's wishes. for a small fee children visit
him and get a small gift.
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The traditional tree is brought in and fairy lights put on it. Some
people put a star on top, others an angel or fairy. The tree is then decorated
in tinsel and glass or plastic baubles and the gifts put underneath.
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Holly and ivy are often brought in to drape around pictures (garlands),
and some people hang bunches of mistletoe to be kissed beneath! A wreath
of Christmas greenery may be hung on the door. Or
"balls" of greenery may be hung in the
hall
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A lot of people put up a crib set depicting the nativity, with tiny figures
made of wood, ceramics or plastic. Churches often have larger versions of
these.
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On Christmas Eve the children are all very excited, as Father Christmas
(Santa) is going to visit. Many put stockings at the end of their beds
for him to fill with small gifts, others use pillowcases. Traditionally
in the morning of Christmas Day when they open them there will be an apple
in the toe and an orange (these days a satsuma or tangerine) in the heel.
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Late at night a lot of people go to Midnight Mass (Catholic)
or Midnight Service (Church of Ireland) to see in Christmas Day.
Communion is usually taken at this service. Churchgoers listen to readings
from the Bible and sing Christmas Carols. Returning home in the
small hours of the morning many will warm up with
mincepies, mulled wine or good old fashioned
Irish Coffee before bed. Some even open all their Christmas gifts then, in
the middle of the night.
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On Christmas morning, if there are any children in the house, they will
wake you up.(Often early!) They will open their stockings from Father
Christmas.
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Before or after breakfast most families open their gifts. Others
go to Church to welcome Christmas in , if they haven't already been. Lots
of people deliver gifts to friends or family, or travel to relatives for
their Christmas meal or drinks.The roads are usually surprisingly
busy.
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The traditional lunch is often planned for as late as 2 or 3 pm.
The table is often decorated with candles and crackers.(Crackers are rolls
of paper which contain a small explosive. This "cracks" when it is pulled
between two people and reveals the contents, usually a hat, a motto or joke
and a small gift.) There is no traditional starter for the meal -but
possibilities are prawn cocktail, melon or smoked salmon with Irish brown
bread. The main course is traditional and consists of Turkey, roast and stuffed,
a Ham often boiled then covered in breadcrumbs and
sugar, sausages, cranberry sauce,
Bread sauce, gravy, potatoes and some vegetables.
Turkey is a tradition brought back from the United States .Before 1600
it was usual to eat a goose.
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Dessert is traditionally Christmas pudding
served either with Brandy butter or
Brandy or
Rum sauce and cream.
Mince pies may also be eaten at this
meal.
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Christmas Midi files
to play or download |
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In my own family we have we have this as an evening meal and we also give
"table presents" as the day can seem a bit flat once all the gifts are opened.
So we have one more small gift each after the meal.
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St. Stephens day (26th December), is also a public holiday
in the Republic of Ireland.
In Northern Ireland it is referred to as Boxing day (as in Great Britain).
Boxing day is traditionally the day when "boxes " of gifts were given
to people who had done service to you in the year. These days small
gifts of money are paid to dustbin men and milkmen before Christmas.
In parts of Ireland the tradition of the Wren Boy festival is still practised
on December 26th.The young men of the Parish used to catch a wren (bird)
and tie it to a furze bush (a gorse bush, a spikey bush with yellow flowers
which grows wild on many rough areas of land. They are often seen
on the side of hills with the heather in summer.) Nowadays no
bird is harmed and they use a decorated piece of gorse. They all dress
up in silly clothes, much like at Halloween, and often blacken their faces.
They go around looking for money, saying "The wren , the
wren, the King of all birds....."Sometimes now they use it to raise
money for charity.
The day after Christmas, St Stephens day or Boxing day is the day when
the Pantomimes start.These are funny plays usually based on a children's
fairy story. Traditional titles include : Cinderella, Babes in the
Wood, Aladdin, Puss in Boots or Snow White. In these plays the sexes tend
to swap roles. Men play the parts of some women such as the Ugly Sisters
in Cinderella, the washerwoman in Aladdin, The "Dame" as these parts are
called. Young women usually play the male leads role the "Prince", "Aladdin"
or "Peter Pan". Women also play the heroine, "Cinderella", "Snow White"
, "Wendy"etc. Usually topical jokes for the adults are written into
the script and there may be songs to sing-a-long to or even games to play.
Often the children get sweets thrown out to them during the pantomime.
Lots of celebrities who don't normally appear on the stage will take part
in a pantomime, sports stars, pop stars or TV personalities all
appear.
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January 6th, (Twelfth night) is the date when all decorations are meant
to be taken down. Christmas trees these days can often be recycled, or people
chop them up and burn them in their fires.
Life slowly returns to normal and the house seems awfully bare!!! |
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