Although Ireland is a strictly Catholic country, strangely enough not the Christ brings the presents, but Father Christmas – Santa Claus. The Irish Christmas traditions are similar to elsewhere which the English very much. That it for Christmas approaching and usually very wet and Father Christmas with a bottle of whiskey or a glass of Guinness instead of milk is considered surprising, just not real. Pre-Christmas Traditions The Irishman started the Christmas season by an extensive and extensive house-cleaning from the basement to the roof. Then the house is decorated for Christmas, especially with mistletoe at the entrance door, often with door wreaths.
Mistletoe to bring good fortune and blessings for the house and its residents and deter evil spirits. Meet a woman and a man by chance under mistletoe, they must be the custom to kiss. The Advent wreaths of Irishmen have five instead of the known four candles. Three of the candles have a purple color, another is pink and the fifth is white and will only become Christmas Eve fire. Red Christmas lights adorn the streets of major towns in Ireland shorten during Advent and Advent children the time until the arrival of Father Christmas. While decorating the houses with ivy, holly, candles and festoons in Ireland have long custom of decorating Christmas trees is the way, only since the 1960-cent years, the Irish houses.
Christmas customs, Father Christmas poses to faith after the gifts for the small and large tenants by their fireplace. The children will thus depend on Christmas evening bag (no socks as in England) on the mantel and make him ready a small pie, such as "Mince Pie" and a bottle of Guinness or whiskey as a gift. On the night of Christmas Eve on the 25.12. put the Irishman candles in their windows, to welcome to Mary and Joseph in their search for a hostel. In the period of repression were burning candles in the windows supposedly also a sign for priests, that they disturbed in this place and unmolested could hold its fair. At midnight visit the strongly Catholic-minded locals to midnight mass. Father Christmas then comes the night and brings the presents are opened the next morning with great joy. Besides the relatives, moreover, as the postman, the barber, and other service providers pleased with little presents. On Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day, children and teenagers dress with holly branches and is attached figures Wren (bird species) from house to house and sing. They were given sweets or money. This wren procession on an old legend (betrayal of St. Stephen by a wren back) and was due to his brutality – one had tied real birds in the holly branches and tortured some to death and threatened the occupants of the house – usually in poem form – with worse if they dare, and would give anything – in the meantime quite unpopular. The Christmas decorations will remain until 6 January, the Epiphany. Who removed before that undergoes the (But) faith after a disaster. Plum pudding and a lot of whiskey … Of course, Christmas is celebrated in Ireland culinary extensive. The tables here are among plum pudding with rum or brandy sauce, turkey, smoked salmon, crab, as well as ham, seasoned roast beef, Cranberrysauce, bread sauce and much more. Of course also flow proper amounts of Guinness and whiskey. The lavish meal but must be washed down eventually …