Welcome to the Ireland section. Here you will find detailed information about Irish history, culture, mythology, writers and music. It also provides you with Irish recipes, examples of the Irish language and the latest jobs on offer in Ireland.

WE Irish love giving presents — and there’s no better one than an Irish gift. So if you’re stuck for an idea this festive season here’s a few ideas — and a look at the history of Christmas time in Ireland.

Of course, if you were sufficiently Hibernian, you could argue that were it not for the Irish there would be no Christmas at all. Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era largely through the efforts of Irish monks. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place.

Irish monks and scribes maintained the very record of Western civilization — copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost. After the fall of the Roman Empire assorted Goths, Visigoths, Vandals and Frankish hordes ransacked the content. But across the Irish Sea the monks and scholars of Armagh, Glendalough etc were quietly working away, ready to re-introduce Christianity (and Christmas) back into Europe, bringing a uniquely Irish world-view to the task.

Then again, it wasn’t just the Christians who were responsible for mid-winter celebrations. The choice of December 25 as the date of Christmas is a story as complicated as the Good Friday Agreement. The Celts (and probably the pre-Celts) celebrated their New Year on November 1. This was the big feast day in early Ireland, and many of the customs of this festival were moved to the end of December to make Christmas more attractive to the unconverted. Christianity has always been aware that it’s in showbusiness.

The winter solstice on December 21 was also an important date in the ancient calendar. At Newgrange, where the ancient Irish buried their royal dead, a shaft of sunlight illuminates the entire passage for 17 minutes on this day every year, and has done so for at least the last 5,000 years.

In the pagan Roman world, the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth-date of the Persian god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness, one of the Middle Eastern influences in Christmas, aside from Christ himself. All in all, the dying embers of December seemed to be a propitious time for the early Christian Church to set out its wares. (In actual fact, the whole idea of choosing a day for the birth of Christ was a bit of U-turn as early Christians did not celebrate the birth of Christ, considering the veneration of anybody’s birthday to be pagan).

Christmas candles and Christmas lights owe their existence to both pagan Celtic and Christian Ireland. The burning of candles has a direct echo with ancient Celtic practices, and is related to the Yule log. In Celtic times candles were used for divination — an attempt to prophesy events. In Christian times, prophesy was out, and the candles now stood for devotion. Their use was reinforced during the years of religious persecution in Ireland when candles were put into the windows to attract fugitive priests.

Two of the most persistent customs from Celtic times are the decoration of the house with holly, mistletoe and ivy. Evergreen plants as symbols of survival have been around in Ireland since pre-Christian times, being used as a defence against demons and witches. As any right-thinking person knows, or at least did then, evil spirits are afraid of green.

The Druids, the old Irish pre-Christian priests, were particularly keen on the magic powers of holly, placing it on doors and windows to dispel evil spirits. Mistletoe is the romantic plant around come Christmas, which is slightly odd. First of all it’s a parasite, and secondly its name is derived from the ancient belief that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. “Mistel” is the Anglo-Saxon word for dung, and “tan” the word for twig. In other words “dung-on-a-twig”.

From the earliest times mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It was considered a bestower of life and fertility; a protection against poison; and an aphrodisiac. So it was a short step to kissing underneath the plant.

The Yule log is a pagan custom from the Yule festival of pagan Celtic and Teutonic tribes. The festival was known by the Teutonics as Jiulies or Guili, and in the Norse lands as Zyule. The log was burned at the winter solstice, and the remnants of the fire were said to have magical powers. The Christmas tree itself is a descendant of the Celtic Druid’s tree worship — each of the Celtic months was marked by a different tree. However its use in Christmas celebrations seems to be of Germanic origins, imported to Britain in Victorian times.

Although Christmas is, along with Easter, the main Christian festival of the year, it is steeped in pagan lore. Christianity was never shy about incorporating and moving pagan festivals around to make itself more attractive in the early days of the religion. Truly it can be said that the Christians nicked Christmas from the pagans, and now the capitalists have nicked it from the Christians. Today, most of the traditional trappings of Christmas as we know it come not from Bethlehem but from various parts of Europe, particularly from the Celtic, Germanic and Norse tribes.

Happy International Christmas!

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Ireland Hooded Jacket: $39.98	Teddy with Aran Sweater: $34.48	Golden Map of Ireland: $19.53
10ct White Gold Claddagh with Diamond	Failte Celtic Pendant	The Emigrant
14K Snowflake Gold Diamond Set Pendant	14K Snowflake Earrings with yellow gold trinity knot	14CT White gold & Diamond Trinity knot pendant
14CT White gold & Diamond Trinity earrings	Two Hearts Together Pendant	Irish Welcome Mat: $14.98