Christmas is stressful. It doesn't seem to matter how much you are or aren't doing towards the Christmas festivities, stress seems to be everywhere.

Deciding to have a Christmas tree is the tip of the Christmas tree iceberg. Should you go artificial or real? well, artificial means that you can take it out year in and year out, but are you saving the world? is it bad to have a real tree and then to dump it after a couple of weeks? Now there is so much awareness about the environment that most Christmas trees come from Christmas tree farms. here the trees are always replaced, so the woodland is not being lost. Also once it is cut most councils have a recycling facility, so your tree is not just dumped. Hopefully this means that whether you opt for the real or artificial, you will not be doing any harm.

Let say that you have decided to go real. Now you have to work out what sort of tree you are going to get and where you are going to buy it from. Some trees will drop their pines more quickly than others; some trees will smell longer than others. if you have small children it may be best to choose a tree which does not drop too much, firstly you don't want to have them eating the pines or getting stuck in their soft toys. the other problem with pine needles and children is that once the tree is coming to the end of its time and you have really had it with vacuuming cleaning the pines you will get less careful and more of your children's toys will end up in the vacuum cleaner bag!

If you are thinking about the environment, you may want to look for a local farm where the trees are grown. In many of these farms you can actually go and choose your tree and they will cut it down for you there and then. This means that your tree is fresh so the pines should last, it means that the tree has not been sprayed with chemicals to either preserve the pines or enhance the smell, and it also means that it has not been carted around the country via trucking several trucking depots and warehouses before it gets to the outlet where you purchase it from, so your tree would have a smaller carbon footprint.

So now you have the tree, you just have to decorate it. Obviously if you have chosen your tree with care you don't want to hide it in a mist of chemical artificial snow, you will want to respect it! if you really are interested in natural you can look over the history of tree decorations and find many which are natural and you can even make you own. Obviously instead of shop bought chocolates you can have homemade biscuit decorations, but there are also dried fruits and paper decorations which can be just as striking as anything you can buy in the shops.

Candle in the window

It's said that a house with a candle lighting on its window is a sign of welcome for Mary and Joseph.The candle is supposed to be lit by the youngest child and the flame put out by a girl called Mary. Is this why the name Mary was so popular in the old days? It was also a sign that Priests were welcome to have mass in that house as masses were forbidden during Penal Times.

Traditionally, a candle was only lit in one window, but nowadays at Christmas, most houses have electric candles in all windows.

Festive decorations

Holly grows wild in Ireland, so it a very common decoration in Irish house over Christmas.

A berry filled holly wreath on the front door is a very popular decoration and is a tradition passed down through the years when long ago poor people would use it to decorate their homes.

The nativity crib, tinsel, baubles, bows and lights both inside and outside are also used to decorate homes.

Decorating the Christmas tree

This was a Pagan custom, which represented the various lunar objects important to them like the sun, moon and stars. The tradition of giving gifts also came from the Pagan era and is a huge part of Christmas today.

Christmas trees are decorated with tinsel and twinkling fairy lights, and while some people put an angel on top of the tree, others prefer a star.

Nowadays in Ireland, Christmas trees and decorations go up as early as the first week of December. In Ireland, it is thought to be bad luck to take Christmas decorations down before the 6th January.

Whitewashing the outhouses

The custom of white washing (painting) outhouses still goes on in some rural places in Ireland. This goes back to a time before Christianity when the entire farm inside and out, was scrubbed and polished in respect of the coming of baby Jesus.

Santa Claus

Late on Christmas Eve, after everybody has gone to sleep, Santa visits the children of Ireland. While they are tucked up in bed, he leaves gifts under Christmas trees and fills Christmas stockings. In return, Santa gets a carrot for Rudolph, a mince pie and a bottle of Guinness!

Christmas Food

Christmas cooking starts in the months before Christmas! Traditional Christmas fruit cakes, porter cakes and plum puddings are made, wrapped and stored. They are opened every now and again and some brandy or whiskey is poured on them to keep them moist.

The traditional Christmas dinner in Ireland consists of ham, stuffed turkey or roast goose, potatoes, vegetables and cranberry sauce. The usual appetizer is salmon or prawn cocktail while the desert is mainly plum pudding with brandy sauce or fresh cream, followed by Christmas cake or mince pies.

(Traditionally the pubs or shops don't open at all on Christmas day. However, nowadays you will find the odd petrol station and shop open but they are few and far between).

Hunting the Wren (The Wran)

The Wren Boy Procession is another Christmas tradition in Ireland. It was at one time commonplace in towns all over Ireland, but nowadays you are most likely to see it in the south of Ireland, and Dingle in Co. Kerry is one town where this tradition is very much alive. It happens each year on the 26th of December (St. Stephen's Day), when The Wren Boys march through the streets of the town dressed in straw, to the beat of drums and tin whistles. It is said that this tradition reigns from Pagan times, when the little wren was considered the 'King of all Birds'. Originally the wren was hunted and killed and then paraded through the town on top of a pole, instead nowadays, the Wren Boys use this opportunity to collect money for charity.

And finally, don't be shocked if you see people swimming in the icy cold water on Christmas Day - this has become an annual event at many locations all over the country, and it's all in the name of charity.

Christmas Traditions & Customs in Ireland