Irish Christmas customs, traditions and beliefs

We take a look back at how Christmas was celebrated in Ireland in years gone by.

Christmas decorations

In Ireland, preparation for Christmas began during Advent with a thorough cleaning of the house and farm buildings, which included whitewashing. In Co. Donegal, palm branches were placed in outhouses on Christmas Day, a practice believed to bring good luck.

At Christmas time, homes across Ireland were decorated predominantly with holly branches with red berries, ivy, mistletoe and other evergreens, as well as ribbons and homemade paper decorations.

Prince Albert introduced Christmas trees to the wealthy of Britain and Ireland in the late 1840s, but they became common throughout Ireland only from the mid-20th century onwards. Instead of a large tree, some households used the top part or a branch of an evergreen tree, which was potted up.

Like today, most Catholic families set up small cribs and altars in their homes, decorated them with holly and ivy, and placed small candles around them. The infant Jesus would not be placed in the crib until Christmas morning.

The decorative holly was traditionally burned on 6 January, marking the end of the festive season.

Candle in the window

On Christmas Eve, it was customary to light candles in windows – usually tall, thick white or red beeswax candles. This practice is still widespread in both rural and urban areas across Ireland. It was traditionally believed that the candlelight would guide Joseph and Mary on their journey. These candles were also meant to serve as a welcoming sign, indicating that anyone who sought refuge in that home would be well looked after.

Before lighting the Christmas candles, holy water was sprinkled around the home. The youngest family member (or less commonly the oldest) was usually tasked with lighting the candles, which were placed in windows and often left burning through the night. In many homes, the candles were lit every night until 6 January.

Leaving the door open

In some homes, the front door was left open on Christmas Eve as a symbolic gesture to welcome the Holy Family or to extend an invitation to those less fortunate. However, by the late 1930s, this tradition had been largely abandoned in many areas, including Wexford, due to increasing concerns about robberies.

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Yule log

The yule log, or bloc na Nollag (Christmas block), was typically a large tree root or the biggest log the man of the house could manage to carry. It was brought into the house on Christmas Eve and burned whole at the back of the fire and was meant to last throughout the Christmas season. Some families would remove it after Christmas, keeping a small piece to use as kindling when lighting the new yule log the following year. Others believed that enough should survive to light the fire every day for the entire year.

Santy

On Christmas Eve, children hung stockings over the fire or at the foot of their beds, hoping for presents from Santy – a common colloquial term for Santa Claus. The gifts from Daidí na Nollag (Father Christmas) typically included oranges, apples, sweets, ribbons and for some wooden and knitted toys.

Christmas Mass

Midnight Mass was celebrated in some churches, particularly in bigger towns and cities. Priests often said three Masses on the morning of Christmas Day, with many attending at least two. Large cribs were set up in the churches as a reminder of the stable where Christ was born.

Christmas feast

Christmas was a time of indulgence, even in households of modest means. Breakfast typically included rashers and eggs, though in Co. Cavan, a tradition held that eating a red herring on Christmas morning warded off toothaches.

Christmas dinner often featured roast turkey or goose stuffed with breadcrumbs, onions, salt, pepper and parsley. In some households, a young pig was roasted and stuffed, or a ham was boiled. Cork city is still known today for its tradition of spiced beef. Regardless of the meat, boxty (a potato dish) and winter vegetables were common accompaniments.

>>> RELATED: A look back at an Irish Christmas dinner table in 1913

The dinner was usually followed by a baked plum pudding. Despite its name, these puddings contain no plums but suet, raisins, sultanas, peel, eggs, nutmeg and other spices. When making the pudding weeks before Christmas, each child in the house took turns stirring the mixture while making a wish. Barmbrack, currant cake and bread with raisins and currants were also popular on Christmas Day and they were served with plenty of tea, whiskey or wine.

Christmas weather

Snow at Christmas was seen as a good omen, as a “green Christmas makes a full graveyard”.

In Co. Donegal, the weather on Christmas Day was tied to predictions for the year ahead: a green Christmas foretold a white Easter, while a warm Christmas meant a cold Easter. Snow at Christmas signalled muddy conditions at Easter. A windy Christmas Day promised abundant fruit on the trees, while snow on Christmas Night brought a good crop the following year. Clear and bright sunshine on Christmas Day was taken as a sign of peace and prosperity in the New Year, whereas stormy winds before sunset were seen as a warning of illness.

Christmas falling on a Wednesday

With Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year, we thought it would be interesting to explore the significance of this occurrence. Traditionally, when Christmas Day landed on a Wednesday, it was believed to herald a stormy, harsh winter but a favourable summer. The year ahead was thought to be disastrous for young people and particularly perilous for sailors and ships.

Mummers and wren boys

Mumming and wren boy traditions saw groups of boys and young men going door to door, performing songs, dances and plays, reciting rhymes and telling jokes – all in exchange for money and treats. Dressed in colourful clothes and costumes made of straw with tall straw hats, they often disguised themselves by blackening their faces or wearing “false faces” (masks).

Mummers – also called Christmas rhymers or straw boys – typically visited homes in the two weeks leading up to Christmas Day or over the 12 days of Christmas. Wren boys, on the other hand, made their rounds on 26 December – St Stephen’s Day or Lá an Dreoilín (Wren Day) – a date traditionally associated with entertainment and fun, such as horseracing, matches and games. The wren boys symbolically (or sometimes literally) hunted a wren and would recite a version of the following rhyme, which sought money to “bury the wren”:

“The wren, the wren, the king of all birds
On St Stephen’s Day, she was caught in the furze.
Although she is little, her family’s great.
Rise up old lady and give us a treat.
Up with the kettle and down with the pan, 
A penny or two pence to bury the wren.”

(With wren pronounced “ran”.)

With the money collected, the wren boys often used it to buy porter and wine or to fund a dance or “wren party”, inviting neighbours to join in the celebrations.

In Fingal, mumming remains a vibrant tradition, with performances still held in pubs and clubs every St Stephen’s Day.

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New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

In some parts of Ireland, the transition to the new year was marked by dances and gatherings. Revellers stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve to “ring out the old year and ring in the new”.

In Co. Cavan, there was a belief that emotions felt on New Year’s Day would influence the year ahead. If a person cried, it was thought they would weep every day throughout the coming year, while those who laughed would find joy every day, all year long. Turning a mattress on New Year’s Day was believed to bring death through disease within the year.

Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas)

In the past, Nollaig na mBan was a day when the traditional roles in Irish households were reversed. Men undertook household chores such as cooking and cleaning, giving women, who had worked tirelessly throughout the Christmas season, a rare chance to rest and socialize.

>>> READ MORE: Nollaig na mBan: the traditions and customs associated with Women’s Christmas

What’s your favourite Irish Christmas custom? Let us know in the comment section below. Nollaig shona dhaoibh!

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