In Ireland, we have so many traditions. We have those from our Celtic heritage, our Christian heritage and our more modern traditions which we treasure most of all.
In this article, I will talk you through some of the Winter Traditions we have that you can take part in no matter what part of the world you are in.
Let's start with one of my favourites, and it signifies the end of Autumn or, Fall for our American friends.
Samhain and All Souls
Now please, please, let me first start by saying it is not pronounced as you hear on TV, it is not SAM-HAY-IN. Celtic, more specifically Irish people have been celebrating this holiday for as centuries and it's pronounced SOW-IN.
This holiday is so special to us for so many reasons.
First, it signifies the end of harvest, the "Darker Half" of the year. I remember as a child, my sisters and I would spend every evening the week before Samhain collecting the last of the apples and plums from the trees, we would go through the forest and fields collecting wild berries, chestnuts and hazelnuts.
The day before Halloween midterm most school children used to compare who found the biggest chestnuts.
In Ireland, when the church/Christianity took over they renamed Samhain All-Souls Night and started offering mass.
This too was a part of our childhood tradition. We would say a prayer for those we had lost and lay flowers and a candle at their grave. Then we return home where we would, bob for apples and eat delicious pies and treats from all the beautiful things we had collected the week before.
I am from the countryside, so dressing up and going door-to-door was more about telling folklore and ghost stories than trick-or-treating. So, it will always be Samhain and All Souls, not Halloween.
So why not take a step back into nature and away from the hysteria this Autumn/Winter? Try some Samhain traditions.
The Late Late Toy Show!
This one is more of a modern tradition, but I'm 30 and I was raised on it and I still watch it every year. Even my friends who have emigrated halfway across the globe tune in at all hours for the magic that is the Late Late Toy Show!
It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't grown up around the Late Late Toy show just how magical and special it is as a child. But even as an adult there is something about watching it, it's cheeky and it's fun and poor Ryan is tormented, trying to keep the children engaged in conversation and entertained while also showing the live audience and viewers the toys.
For people like me, we grew up watching the toy show. When we were little it was the one night a year we could stay up till midnight in November. The next day we would make a list for Santa and go to the post office and send it away to the north pole. Hot chocolate and PJ is where the memories from then.
Then as teenagers, we laughed at all the little kids causing the presenter trouble and watched for our favourite bands and celebrities that would be the special guests on the show.
As college students, we played the drinking games created by other students when watching the show, the rules were so ridiculous, but funny nonetheless. Every time there was one free for everyone in the audience we took a shot, every time a little kid spilt something on the poor presenter you had to take another drink from your pint and so on and so forth.
And as adults every year there is a race to try and get tickets so you can be that one in the audience winning a free weekend away or luxury chocolate hamper or just get to take part in the funny games that are on stage. Because you remember those were the best bits as you were growing up and you still tune in to watch the poor people making a fool of themselves.
But it's not all about the toys, you get to see some of Ireland's most talented youths sing, dance and play their instruments, and the host God love him he tries, he really gets stuck in there and we love him for it.
Check out some of the magic here.
If you haven't seen the Late Late Toy Show yet I highly recommend you tune into the RTÉ player on the 25th of November this year no matter where you are in the world.
Christmas Traditions!
From the festive lights to the huge pine trees and the enchantingly decorated shop windows, we Irish go all out for Christmas. It's almost impossible to say which of our traditions belong in this article...
So what I'm going to do is add the top 3 that are most memorable from my childhood, and hopefully, you will want to try them too:
- A Guiness for Santa and a Carrot for his Reindeer! All around the world the big guy gets his fill of milk and cookies, but here in Ireland things are done quite differently and Santy likes to indulge in some more hefty treats: a pint of Guinness! Everyone knows it keeps ya warm in the snow!
- A candle in the window. Symbolically, the candle represented a welcome to Joseph and Mary as they wandered in search of lodgings. The candle indicated to strangers and especially to the poor that there may be an offering of food in the house within
- The 8th December. The feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day was traditionally the day families came 'up from the country to do their Christmas shopping in one of the larger towns like Dublin, Cork, or Galway. Apart from the facility to shop online 24/7 it is pretty much open season in many of the large shopping centres, like Dundrum and the Kildare Village Outlet from November. However, there is still something magical about strolling down Henry Street or Grafton St in Dublin, Shop Street in Galway or Patrick Street in Cork at Christmas time... Maybe it's the Christmas spirit?
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