My Christmas Memories
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In Ireland Christmas is pretty big, the celebrations start early in December. Officially
December 8th when all the schools and colleges get the day off and stores stay open. So
everyone packs into the towns for the first of the X-mas shopping. Those of us that are
catholic attend church that evening and light the first of the advent candles (of which there
are 4 in all - the last one being the lit on Christmas day mass). Decorations in the houses in
Ireland go up December 12th, with the last decoration being the Christmas star or angel (on
top) which is normally put in place by the youngest in the family. Families spend a lot of
money on Christmas. Relations come home from abroad and visit. Caroling goes on all
December. It gets pretty cold, so families gather round the big fires in the sitting room for
some quality old movie watching and the scoffing of chocolate and all things nice!
(Christmas is definitely a time for comfort eating!!).
Friends and family call over the Christmas period bringing gifts (such as alcohol and
sweets) for consumption by all!! Kids wait patiently on Christmas eve for Santa but on the
weekends before Christmas kids go to visit one of the friendly (fake) Santas in their local
mall (in Ireland we call them shopping centres) to get their picture on his lap. (i experienced
this first hand for about 3 years, i worked with a photographer and each Christmas for 2
weeks i would work with him taking pictures of kids with Santa!!, oh the tears i saw!).
On Christmas eve night kids put out cake and Guinness for the man in red and parents
light a candle in the window (this goes back to the early Christian tradition of lighting a
candle to welcome Mary and Joseph into their house on the night of Christs birth, the
Christmas story tells of how they couldn't find a place to rest). Then early Christmas day my
family wakes ( i normally wake my whole family seeing as i am the youngest) at about half 7
am. We all gather in my parents room with our gifts for each other. Then we swap our
presents. After this my mother and i do our Christmas morning duty of cooking a big fry up
(sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast and tea) for everyone
(in my family i have two older brothers and two older sisters, both sisters have their own
kids and arrive with them at this time for the breakfast and more gifts). Then we get dressed
up in our new Christmas clothes (another tradition of dressing in our Sunday best to greet
the newborn Jesus Christ at church). Many Christians go to mass at midnight on Christmas
eve too.
After church we come home and start the Christmas dinner. While thats cooking its time
for more old movies. Classics such as "wonderful life" "Inida Jones" "the snowman" are
enjoyed by a big fire and lots of chocolate and tea! At dinner time we gather (all 13 of us
now) and start with pulling our Christmas crackers, then we eat! The dinner is made up of
soup to start, then potatoes (roasted and mashed), turkey (and cranberry sauce) ham,
broccoli, brussel sprouts, gravy, carrots, then dessert is trife (not Christmas cake in my
house, none of us like it).
After that feast its time to crash in front of the TV once more! St. Stephens night is the night
for partying in Ireland, thats when friends meet up in the local pub or town for drinking and
merriment into the early hours! Many people reunite in the same bar every year!!
The last day of Christmas in Ireland is officially the 6th of January, this is called little
women's Christmas, its supposed to be a day when women take the day off and men do
the work, the decorations come down too.
Kitty from Ireland
December 8th when all the schools and colleges get the day off and stores stay open. So
everyone packs into the towns for the first of the X-mas shopping. Those of us that are
catholic attend church that evening and light the first of the advent candles (of which there
are 4 in all - the last one being the lit on Christmas day mass). Decorations in the houses in
Ireland go up December 12th, with the last decoration being the Christmas star or angel (on
top) which is normally put in place by the youngest in the family. Families spend a lot of
money on Christmas. Relations come home from abroad and visit. Caroling goes on all
December. It gets pretty cold, so families gather round the big fires in the sitting room for
some quality old movie watching and the scoffing of chocolate and all things nice!
(Christmas is definitely a time for comfort eating!!).
Friends and family call over the Christmas period bringing gifts (such as alcohol and
sweets) for consumption by all!! Kids wait patiently on Christmas eve for Santa but on the
weekends before Christmas kids go to visit one of the friendly (fake) Santas in their local
mall (in Ireland we call them shopping centres) to get their picture on his lap. (i experienced
this first hand for about 3 years, i worked with a photographer and each Christmas for 2
weeks i would work with him taking pictures of kids with Santa!!, oh the tears i saw!).
On Christmas eve night kids put out cake and Guinness for the man in red and parents
light a candle in the window (this goes back to the early Christian tradition of lighting a
candle to welcome Mary and Joseph into their house on the night of Christs birth, the
Christmas story tells of how they couldn't find a place to rest). Then early Christmas day my
family wakes ( i normally wake my whole family seeing as i am the youngest) at about half 7
am. We all gather in my parents room with our gifts for each other. Then we swap our
presents. After this my mother and i do our Christmas morning duty of cooking a big fry up
(sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast and tea) for everyone
(in my family i have two older brothers and two older sisters, both sisters have their own
kids and arrive with them at this time for the breakfast and more gifts). Then we get dressed
up in our new Christmas clothes (another tradition of dressing in our Sunday best to greet
the newborn Jesus Christ at church). Many Christians go to mass at midnight on Christmas
eve too.
After church we come home and start the Christmas dinner. While thats cooking its time
for more old movies. Classics such as "wonderful life" "Inida Jones" "the snowman" are
enjoyed by a big fire and lots of chocolate and tea! At dinner time we gather (all 13 of us
now) and start with pulling our Christmas crackers, then we eat! The dinner is made up of
soup to start, then potatoes (roasted and mashed), turkey (and cranberry sauce) ham,
broccoli, brussel sprouts, gravy, carrots, then dessert is trife (not Christmas cake in my
house, none of us like it).
After that feast its time to crash in front of the TV once more! St. Stephens night is the night
for partying in Ireland, thats when friends meet up in the local pub or town for drinking and
merriment into the early hours! Many people reunite in the same bar every year!!
The last day of Christmas in Ireland is officially the 6th of January, this is called little
women's Christmas, its supposed to be a day when women take the day off and men do
the work, the decorations come down too.
Kitty from Ireland
When I say home here, I always mean my family home in Michigan.
Until I moved to Japan, I always spent my Christmas at home with my family, even when i lived 3000 miles away. My family is not
Christian, but Christmas comes from older religious roots, and so we celebrate that. I'm not religious at all, but it's still an important
time for me to spend with people I care about.
On Christmas Eve, my family always went out to see a movie. We were very poor when I was little, and it was the one time a year we
saw a movie, so it was very exciting.
After I moved to Japan, I have stopped going home for Christmas. Now I spend Christmas with my fiance, but it is still an important
family time. My family and I each set up web cams and we have Christmas morning that way. I don't decorate much, but I always have a
Christmas tree. At home, there is always a Christmas tree and stockings, and usually festive garlands and pillows. We wake up early
on Christmas (I stay up late in Japan because of the time difference) and in our pajamas we open presents. Then we eat cinnamon
buns, toast, salmon, and lots of other fancy breakfast foods. We usually spend the day at home, spending family time or helping my
father cook Christmas dinner. Then we all sit down and have roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, apple and
mincemeat pies, various vegetables and fruits.
Lady in Michigan, USA
Until I moved to Japan, I always spent my Christmas at home with my family, even when i lived 3000 miles away. My family is not
Christian, but Christmas comes from older religious roots, and so we celebrate that. I'm not religious at all, but it's still an important
time for me to spend with people I care about.
On Christmas Eve, my family always went out to see a movie. We were very poor when I was little, and it was the one time a year we
saw a movie, so it was very exciting.
After I moved to Japan, I have stopped going home for Christmas. Now I spend Christmas with my fiance, but it is still an important
family time. My family and I each set up web cams and we have Christmas morning that way. I don't decorate much, but I always have a
Christmas tree. At home, there is always a Christmas tree and stockings, and usually festive garlands and pillows. We wake up early
on Christmas (I stay up late in Japan because of the time difference) and in our pajamas we open presents. Then we eat cinnamon
buns, toast, salmon, and lots of other fancy breakfast foods. We usually spend the day at home, spending family time or helping my
father cook Christmas dinner. Then we all sit down and have roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, apple and
mincemeat pies, various vegetables and fruits.
Lady in Michigan, USA
Growing up in Boston, Massachusetts I have fond memories of Christmas as a child.
The day after Thanksgiving (last Thursday in November) my grandfather, and my father's 4 brothers would be up all day decorating
the front of the house from the roof to the railings leading to the sidewalk.
My family is quite large so Christmas mornings my sister and I would wake up bright and early. My mom would have the radio on
playing Christmas carols. We would gather in the living room decorated in a few lights and a small Christmas tree. Still in our
pajamas, we would begin opening up the presents from my mom.
Since my family is so large, around 2pm, my sister and I would get showered and put on casual clothes ( jeans, slacks, t-shirts,
shirts with a collar) and my mom would drive us to my grandparent's (father's parents) house for Christmas. I remember first walking
in the house kissing and hugging everyone from my uncles, grandparents, aunts, cousins and some distant relatives I only saw
once or twice a year. It was easy to find my grandparent's house because it was always the most well lit house on the block. The
Christmas lights could be seen from far away. I wonder if the astronauts could see it while orbiting around the earth...haha...My
grandparents had the biggest house in the family and it had plenty of parking, so it was the obvious place for Christmas dinner.
As soon as I walked in I could smell the food. My grandmother usually made 2 or 3 large turkeys, mashed potatoes, baked
macaroni and cheese, biscuits, sweet potatoes, green beans, collard greens, gravy, 6 or 7 sweet potato pies, 6 or 7 apple pies and a
variety of other vegetables like corn, spinach oh and a large honey baked ham.
I didn't want to get in the way of the cooks, so I always joined my grandfather and uncles in the living room glued to the TV watching
American football. We never needed the lights on because the lights from the Christmas tree in the den next door lit up the whole den
and living room. The Christmas tree was always real and always reached to the ceiling and was so wide, the furniture from the den
had to be moved into another room. You could not get around the tree without climbing on the chair and being trapped between the
window and tree.
Around 4pm, everyone was called to the dining room for a family dinner. The adults sat at the large 2 tables and the children (me)
would sit at the smaller table. My grandfather would say a rather long grace before we all started eating. There was so much talking
and laughter during dinner. We usually finished eating around 5pm or 6pm.
After dinner, the family would all gather in the living room and start opening presents. Since no one could really fit in the den where
the presents were, one of my uncles would start handing out the presents. Handing out presents started slow then sped up.
Everyone would have 1 present and open it at the same time. Some presents were from Santa and some were from relatives. The
presents from relatives were opened first and it was always important for us to say, "Thank you" immediately while holding the
present up so everyone could see it.
There were so many family members in the house, that it took about 1 - 2 hours to open all the presents. After the presents were
opened, everyone would go to different rooms in the house and talk and reminisce.
Everyone would start going home around 7pm or 8pm. My mom always picked my sister and I up around 8pm. I would return home
with my mom and my mom would have 2 or 3 large apple pies (my sister likes apple pie) and 2 or 3 large sweet potato pies ( I like
sweet potato pies) on the stove.
Randall
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The day after Thanksgiving (last Thursday in November) my grandfather, and my father's 4 brothers would be up all day decorating
the front of the house from the roof to the railings leading to the sidewalk.
My family is quite large so Christmas mornings my sister and I would wake up bright and early. My mom would have the radio on
playing Christmas carols. We would gather in the living room decorated in a few lights and a small Christmas tree. Still in our
pajamas, we would begin opening up the presents from my mom.
Since my family is so large, around 2pm, my sister and I would get showered and put on casual clothes ( jeans, slacks, t-shirts,
shirts with a collar) and my mom would drive us to my grandparent's (father's parents) house for Christmas. I remember first walking
in the house kissing and hugging everyone from my uncles, grandparents, aunts, cousins and some distant relatives I only saw
once or twice a year. It was easy to find my grandparent's house because it was always the most well lit house on the block. The
Christmas lights could be seen from far away. I wonder if the astronauts could see it while orbiting around the earth...haha...My
grandparents had the biggest house in the family and it had plenty of parking, so it was the obvious place for Christmas dinner.
As soon as I walked in I could smell the food. My grandmother usually made 2 or 3 large turkeys, mashed potatoes, baked
macaroni and cheese, biscuits, sweet potatoes, green beans, collard greens, gravy, 6 or 7 sweet potato pies, 6 or 7 apple pies and a
variety of other vegetables like corn, spinach oh and a large honey baked ham.
I didn't want to get in the way of the cooks, so I always joined my grandfather and uncles in the living room glued to the TV watching
American football. We never needed the lights on because the lights from the Christmas tree in the den next door lit up the whole den
and living room. The Christmas tree was always real and always reached to the ceiling and was so wide, the furniture from the den
had to be moved into another room. You could not get around the tree without climbing on the chair and being trapped between the
window and tree.
Around 4pm, everyone was called to the dining room for a family dinner. The adults sat at the large 2 tables and the children (me)
would sit at the smaller table. My grandfather would say a rather long grace before we all started eating. There was so much talking
and laughter during dinner. We usually finished eating around 5pm or 6pm.
After dinner, the family would all gather in the living room and start opening presents. Since no one could really fit in the den where
the presents were, one of my uncles would start handing out the presents. Handing out presents started slow then sped up.
Everyone would have 1 present and open it at the same time. Some presents were from Santa and some were from relatives. The
presents from relatives were opened first and it was always important for us to say, "Thank you" immediately while holding the
present up so everyone could see it.
There were so many family members in the house, that it took about 1 - 2 hours to open all the presents. After the presents were
opened, everyone would go to different rooms in the house and talk and reminisce.
Everyone would start going home around 7pm or 8pm. My mom always picked my sister and I up around 8pm. I would return home
with my mom and my mom would have 2 or 3 large apple pies (my sister likes apple pie) and 2 or 3 large sweet potato pies ( I like
sweet potato pies) on the stove.
Randall
Boston, Massachusetts, USA