Listen: Forgotten Christmas traditions

What people lacked in money and amenities in years gone by, they made up for in tradition and community spirit. This is especially true in the context of Christmas.

Disposable income was a luxury yet to be discovered by most, and in its absence the time now spent flittering with presents was filled with song and story. With the festive season becoming more materialistic, many past traditions have petered out. Irish Country Living travelled back though time recently to rediscover what has been lost from the festive season.

Listen to "Forgotten Christmas traditions" on Spreaker.

The Rambling House

Approaching the Rambling House at the foot of Knockfierna Hill in Co Limerick, there are two old bicycles propped up against the whitewashed wall. The red half door swings in the winter breeze. Walking through it and into the old farm house is like stepping back in time.

There is one main room, with several small rooms off it. The centrepiece is an open fire, filling the room with the smell of burning turf. The dresser takes up almost all of one wall. It is a jungle of plates and cups, candles, matchboxes and an assortment of items perched on every available surface.

A 360-degree spin is a full history lesson. There is a washboard, a meat safe dating back to pre-refrigeration and a poster advertising a bicycle that can be bought with the deposit of 10p.

Local historian Pat O’Donovan is involved with the Rambling House and got up early to light the fire. In the run-up to the Christmas of 1993, a session was held here whereby older members of the community outlined festive customs they remembered from their younger years. It was initially recorded on video tape and has since been transferred to DVD and digital.

Pat explains that they were very lucky in their timing as they managed to capture a generation who clearly remembered the first half of the 20th century, many of whom have since passed. We sit and watch the DVD, Pat elaborating on the reasoning behind the traditions. Most of what is outlined below would have taken place up to the 1950s.

Post on Christmas Day

In the early 1900s, post was delivered on Christmas Day and postmen were notorious for being drunk. Each house they visited would have given them a drop of whiskey. As the evening wore on, this often caused problems as impaired senses made it difficult to correctly interpret addresses, meaning Christmas cards often went astray.

“The postman would have been given alcohol in nearly every house and he was on a bicycle, remember,” explains Pat. “By the time he would have gotten out from the village around to the outskirts – and he was drinking all day now – it could have been midnight when he got to some houses.”

Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve

In most churches, midnight mass has evolved into an evening mass that’s held around 9pm on Christmas Eve. Traditionally, mass was held at midnight on Christmas Eve and people used to come into towns and villages early in the evening to meet family and friends.

Once again, alcohol was involved and by the time it came to going to mass, people were often ar meisce, with their behaviour becoming a little bit extravagant for the occasion. It was not uncommon for fights to break out at the back of the church or for snores to be heard from pews. This was a contributing factor in masses being changed to the evening time.

“Midnight mass would have taken place at 12am at night and many people would have been fasting for 12 hours beforehand,” says Pat. “Going to the early masses on Christmas morning, people would still be fasting and many fainted along the roadside. They were badly fed in the first place and then the fasting on top of that didn’t help.”

Candles

Large candles were placed in the windows of houses during Christmas, usually held in a carved-out turnip and always lit by the youngest member of the household. It was said to be bad luck if the candle burned down faster on one side than the other.

A sieve of oats was placed in the middle of the table with 12 small candles around it. This is an example of how pagan and Christian traditions merged in Ireland over time. The oats represents a plentiful harvest in the new year, while the candles represent the 12 apostles.

Gifts and shopping

“A couple of days before Christmas was when shopping started. It didn’t start in October or November like it does now,” outlines Pat. “Christmas shopping was a lot different, they just got the few bits they needed for the dinner.”

Christmas presents for children were often oranges or maybe a small toy like a cap gun. Local shops gave gift boxes depending on how much custom families gave the establishment during the year. Good customers got a large cake, while those who spent less received a small cake.

“High mass for high money, low mass for low money and no mass for no money.”

These traditions are not commonplace or even known at all in modern festive celebrations, but customs are fluid and the rituals of today will soon become the forgotten Christmas traditions of years to come.

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