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Candles in the Window
Throughout the north-eastern United States, you will find that at Christmas time almost every home has candles displayed in every front window. They have the Irish to thank for exporting that custom.
Whether you subscribe to the theory that to have a candle in your window on Christmas Eve meant that you were welcoming the Holy Family that found no such welcome in Bethlehem or that the candle in the window signified the home where the Catholic mass was celebrated, the custom still exists in Ireland today. Either way, the lights in the windows make a lovely addition to the holiday season.
Decorating with Holly
Before everyone imported the idea of having a Christmas tree, the homes of Ireland were decorated at Christmas with boughs of holly. The green holly represents the crown of thorns and the red berries drops of blood from Jesus face and head. When holly sprigs begin to appear on everything from picture frames to doorways and mantles, you know for sure that Christmas is coming.
The Reason for the Season
Although the commercialization of Christmas has begun to drift over from across the Atlantic, Ireland is still a Christian nation. Church services play a real part in the celebration of Christmas here. The Irish people really display the Spirit of Christmas with generosity to the street vendors and the less fortunate around the time of Christ’s birth.
Another endearing quality of Ireland is the time that the people take out of their usual calendars to devote to Christmas. In many modern countries, Christmas trees are thrown out with the garbage the day after Christmas. In Dublin, Christmas day is only the beginning of celebrating with friends that doesn’t end until the Feast of Epiphany on the 6th of January.
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