Irish Candle in the Window

The Irish are enthusiastic about all holidays and Christmas celebrations are particularly festive and exuberant.

Kate Phelan uncovered local Irish Christmas traditions which you might find interesting.

Christmas Day swims have been held for decades across Ireland to raise funds for charity. In Dublin the hearty souls jump into 45 degrees Dublin Bay from the forty-foot promontory at Sandycove, and in Kerry they jump off of the Fenit Pier under the watchful eyes of St. Brendan’s statue. Reminds me of the Toronto Polar Bear Dips hijinks in Lake Ontario on New Years’ Day. Need a wee dram or three after that.

If you’re not into freezing your tail off and stopping your heart, you may prefer to cavort in a parade dressed in straw. That would be the Wren Boys procession held on Boxing (St. Stephen’s) Day, the day after Christmas in Dingle, County Kerry. This highlight ritual going back centuries to Celtic times has the lads hunting for a fake wren.

    The Wexford Carol which originated in the 12^th Century in Enniscorthy, County Wexford is the oldest religious Christmas song in the English language. Over the centuries it was only sung by men. Julie Andrews broke that tradition in 1966 and now everyone can sing this marvelous carol about the nativity at Christmastime. Check her marvelous rendition out on U-Tube or hold a Wexford Carols party with Caitríona O’Leary and Tom Jones’s The Wexford Carols album.

On January 6, the twelfth day, the Irish celebrate Little Christmas or Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas). On that day the men do all the chores and duties including taking down the Christmas decorations to give the women and girls a rest day. By then they may have warmed up enough from the Promontory plunge.

It is the Irish custom of lighting and placing a single candle in the home’s front window on Christmas Eve that interests me most. This custom dates back at least as far as the seventeenth century at a time when the English persecution of the Irish Catholics forbade the practice of Catholic Christianity at the penalty of death for practitioners. Yet Catholic service was conducted in secret throughout Ireland. The risk was particularly high at Christmas time when services were most prevalent. Priests would come to Catholic homes to pray in secret. The candle indicated a Catholic home. To confuse the oppressive English, the standard explanation for the candle was that it would light the way for Joseph, Mary and Jesus to find lodging for the night.  

A poem was created by Eric Barr in 2010 to commemorate this practice:

“Candle burning warm
Candle burning bright,
Guide the Holy Family to this home tonight.
Wandering the world,
Looking for a bed,
Anywhere to lay the tiny Baby’s head.
On this Christmas Eve,
May their travels cease,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph–stay and be at peace.”

Whatever your religion, I hope that you all will agree with the concept of religious freedom and freedom from oppression. This in fact was precisely what the Irish revolutionaries were seeking back in 1915 when they picked up the call for freedom once again. It is my hope that we can all reflect on their moral courage and apply it to our own time here on earth, especially during the holiday season.

 I wish you the happiest and safest of holidays with family and friends!!

 Stephen’s novel series “The Irish Clans” can be purchased at https://amzn.to/3gQNbWi