# Irish Christmas Traditions



## johan (24/12/14)

*Some Irish Christmas traditions*:

01. If you’re looking for a Church packed to the rafters, look no further than any church in Ireland at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. This is a huge social gathering where family, friends, and neighbors who you may not have seen all year come together and celebrate Christmas. With Christmas carols being sung and, often, live music being played, midnight Mass in Ireland is a great place to catch up with old friends and get in touch with the local community at Christmas.
​02. Christmas day swims take place all over Ireland on Christmas morning, but probably most famously at the Forty Foot Rock, just south of Dublin. On Christmas Day hundreds of people can be seen jumping off the rock into the Irish Sea wearing only their bathing suits. The water in the Irish Sea on Christmas Day is usually around 10C. Unfortunately, the temperature outside the water is usually far below that, making the experience bracing to say the least. This is certainly not for the faint of heart but is a proven hangover cure, and participants often receive sponsorship for charities.

03. This started off with aunties, grandmothers and relatives handing over the most hideous sweaters as presents for Christmas, but somehow Christmas sweaters have turned into a competition on the streets of Ireland. The woollier, hairier, and more ridiculously decorated the better. In fact, this year a gentleman with fake robins are a hit, bells and fairy lights all on one sweater.
​04. Although there are the traditional mince pieces, pudding, and chocolates too, the biscuits and the rules about the tin are something that everyone in Ireland remember. There is about 10 types of biscuits in each layer of the tin but you are not allowed to break through to the second layer without finishing the first layer. This would cause at least one fight a day among the family. The tins are also filled with old fashioned biscuits like pink wafers and bourbon creams. 

05. January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, is traditionally when the Irish finish celebrating Christmas. It is also known as "Nollaigh na mBean" in Gaelge (Women’s Christmas). Tradition has it that women get the day off and the men of the house get to do the housework, cooking and take down the Christmas decorations. Women meet up, have a day out and treat themselves.


----------

