The oldest known custom, which dates back to the ancient Mesopotamians is whitewashing the house. This predates Christian and Celtic civilizations and used to involve whitewashing the entire farm, inside and out! It is believed that originally it was an attempt to assist the ancient gods in the battle against chaos. It was the women’s job to clean and polish everything and the men would paint the building with whitewash to purify everything in honor of the birth of Christ.

Some less strenuous Christmas traditions are delightful, such as placing a lighted candle in the window on Christmas Eve to welcome Mary and Joseph when they are looking for shelter. They are usually red candles, decorated with sprigs of holly. Ireland’s Christmas tends to be more religious than some other countries and lasts from Christmas Eve until January 6th, which is the feast of Epiphany. Another significance of the lighted candle was that here was a safe place to perform mass, which was not allowed during Penal Times.

Another tradition involves baking a seed cake for everyone in the house and also three Christmas puddings, one for Christmas Day, another for New Years Day and the third for Twelfth Night.

Known in England as Boxing Day, St. Stephens day is the day after Christmas. This is quite an important day in Ireland, with football matches being played and meetings held. The children take part in a ceremony called The Wren Boys Procession. The boys go door to door, singing accompanied by horns, harmonicas and violins, carrying a model wren on a stick. They ask for money “for the starving wren”, which is of course for pocket money! The origins of this are from when a village plotted against the local soldiers in Penal Times. The story goes that the soldiers were about to be ambushed and the plot failed when a number of wrens pecked on their drums and woke the soldiers.

Women actually get their own Christmas in Ireland, this is on The Feast of the Epiphany, also called ‘Nollaig na mBean’ or Women’s Christmas. On this day by tradition, the women get the day off and the men have to do all the housework and the cooking! Women take the opportunity to meet in each other’s homes and chat. This is becoming very popular and many Irish women now meet up on the Sunday nearest Epiphany, for tea and cakes, and to enjoy some quality time together.

As in many other countries Irish people are spending more money each year celebrating Christmas. In 2006, the total amount spent at Christmas in Ireland was €16 billion, this averages an amazing €4,000 for each person in the country! Christmas weddings, often celebrated with the exchange of Celtic wedding rings, are also popular in Ireland and with the change in the law imminent that will allow weddings to take place at venues other than churches and registry offices will become more so. Some of the stunning castles will be the perfect setting for combining both Christmas and wedding celebrations and will ensure that the happy couples and their families enjoy this special time of year even more.

Image courtesy of celtic-weddingrings.com

About the author: Steven writes for Celtic Wedding Rings, an Irish company that specializes in Celtic jewelry and handcrafted wedding jewelry.

However not all are successful, sometimes tradition is best, and as chefs search for new twists, we ruin what could have been a perfectly good dinner by following their lead.

Tried and Tested

Here are little bits from each combined, invented, tried and tested by Martina Mercer, not just over the Christmas season but over the entire year to ensure that you feel safe in the knowledge that you will have the best turkey this year, and that turkey will be moist and delicious, not dry and hard to swallow.

The first tip is to buy the bird. Although many people advise against cheap frozen birds in this economic climate, a lot of us can’t afford to splash out on a free range Norfolk black turkey that costs more than our car tax. This recipe will ensure that no matter what bird you use, it will be tasty succulent, and so moist that there will be no leftovers for a turkey stew. (This can be a good or bad thing).

If frozen allow 3 days before Christmas for the turkey to defrost thoroughly. Pick the coldest room in the house, or even the shed if it keeps frosts away, and take a big DIY bucket.

Fill with ice cold water (don’t freeze the turkey again, fridge temperature is best) and then plonk the turkey in.

Now for the Fun

Using herbs from the garden pick as many as are in season as possible, add them to the water along with some fallen apples, pears, anything the garden has left behind. (Make sure they’re thoroughly clean).

Add spices from the larder too, such as star anise, garlic, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg, then leave the turkey to bathe in the cold water for at least twenty four hours.

On Christmas morning remove the turkey and dry thoroughly. Make a herb butter and mix in a good dollop of mascarpone. Add favourite flavour combinations such as lemon and thyme, sage and chive, or rosemary and garlic, and then gently poke under the skin making sure the whole turkey has butter covering it.

Turkey Treat Time!

Give the turkey a treat and massage well as you would a partner, don’t worry about splitting the skin as it’s much tougher than chicken.

Then sit your turkey in a roasting tray on a bed of celery, onions, carrots, garlic and parsnips. Fill will boiling water to the top of the veg (not touching the turkey) and bring to the boil on a stove.

Cover with foil and cook according to taste, remembering to baste every 30 minutes.

When cooked, bring out of the oven and leave to rest for at least an hour, allowing all those lovely juices to permeate and the herbs to do their magic.

You will see that this is the best turkey every created, and guests will want your recipe. It’s up to you whether you share the Martina Mercer secret or not!

About the author: This blog post was written by Martina Mercer. When she is not cooking or tending to her herb plants she can be found at her desk writing about both!

The best Christmas dinner my family and I ever enjoyed was two years ago when my mom and Michael made chicken enchiladas. My family spent my early childhood in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and I grew up with an appreciation for Hispanic culture, traditions, and food, which included Mom’s enchiladas. She still makes them from the recipe a friend gave her more than two decades ago, the cursive handwriting still strong against the yellowing index card. Preparing the dish is a multi-step process which allowed my family to spend time together. Michael sautéed the onions, Mom and I rolled shredded chicken and cheese in tortillas, and Dad roasted green chilies on the stove. My parents, who have long held allegiance to Whirlpool refrigerators, prepared and stored a second casserole for later in the week when no one would want to cook. I remember joking that I felt like I was on the set of a cooking show, complete with ingredients in small, white bowls and a fridge full of pre-made foods seemingly put there by a magician’s hands.

While the enchiladas baked, we sat around reliving Christmases past (minus any pesky visits from ghosts or Ebenezer Scrooge), including singing along to Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” while driving around town looking at farolitos as they lit up walkways and walls. Now that we’re all getting older and my beloved grandparents have passed on, having the family back together again is especially nice. We always mean to call, visit, and write, and yet time slips away seemingly before we realize it. The dinner was a special treat because we’d left the southwest years earlier to be closer to family and it was a fun time to hearken back to the Christmas gatherings of my youth, long before life moved us away from each other.

We served the enchiladas with a nice green salad and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, making sure to save room – hours later – for pound cake made from my grandmother’s recipe. The four of us fondly remembered the winters we’d spent in the Land of Enchantment, sledding down the hill outside our house and shopping for Christmas gifts in town and in nearby Albuquerque. It was wonderful to blend the traditions of my Michael’s homecoming with a look back at our respective childhoods and earlier years, all enhanced by one of my favorite childhood meals that I hope to make someday with my own children.

About the author: Chi Norris is a writer and visual artist who likes painting, poetry, and reading memoirs. She also blogs on behalf of Sears and other quality brands.

We all know that when it comes to the big “C-day” when Santa Claus has been that it is important to get people things they want and like, so surely it should be the same for picking Christmas cards.

I’m a firm believer in that the one-size-fits-all approach isn’t the right method for sending Xmas wishes and seasons greetings to friends, family and loved ones.

So, in the last year I’ve decided to go about the process differently.

Initially, I’ve sat down and prepared my annual list of names — rather like a roll call — of people who will receive my dose of good cheer and winter salutations.

I’ve then organised them into various groups, including work, family and friends.

Once I’d done this I then reflected and thought about what cards I would like to send to people specifically.

For business clients I created a personalised card with our company’s logo on it to wish the people I deal with an extremely Merry Christmas, and made a note of the last time we’d chatted.

After this I bought some comical cards for my work colleagues as there is always someone in the office making a joke and having a laugh. My thought was that keeping work cards convivial just makes sense.

However, I did keep in mind that certain humour applies only for certain people and was selective in the cards I bought — Although I do hope that everyone finds Santa getting stuck in the chimney while Rudolph eats the mince pies a little funny.

I then focussed my attention on my growing friends list (and not the one on Facebook), which includes old school mates, university pals and various individuals I’ve met throughout the years.

In these Christmas cards I invested a little more time and effort in selecting different pictures, scenes and settings on the card and then writing a specific message to each person on the interior of the card.

Then, last but not least, I concentrated on buying cards for the family and invested in creating and purchasing photo cards for each of them, which I feel are more personal and perfect for each individual, and mean more than selecting a random winter card from the pack.

About the author: David Stevenson is a journalist and freelance writer living in the UK. He’s published over 500 articles for trade sites covering a range of topics.

1. Prepare before you buy

If you are heading out to the Christmas tree farm the weekend after Thanksgiving to select and cut a live tree, then the second week of November is a good time to do an inspection of your Christmas tree stand. You don’t want to wait until you have arrived home with a 7 foot white pine only to discover that your Christmas tree stand has a crack in the plastic liner. Water all over your carpet and hardware floors is not a good way to herald in the holiday season.

2. Keep it fresh

If you plan to purchase a pre-cut tree, remember that freshness is critical to preventing tree-related fires. Examine the tree closely for drying or dead needles. One easy way to do this is to hold the tree up a few inches off the ground and drop the butt of the truck against the ground. If a large number f needles fall off, then the tree is probably starting to dry out. Remember that the drying process of a tree is irreversible. No amount of watering when you get home will make a dry tree become hydrated and fresh again, and dry trees are simply a fire hazard.

3. Size matters

Be sure to measure the height of the room where you intend to set up the tree. If your living room has 7 foot ceilings, you do not want to buy a 7 foot tree. As a general rule of thumb, you should allow about 18 inches of space to account for the Christmas tree stand, any floor protecting tray or mat that you have underneath it, and the star or whatever other topper you prefer. This also allows a little extra space at the top, so your tree’s topper isn’t brushing the ceiling, which will help ensure that your tree doesn’t overpower the rest of the room.

4. Strap it down!

It’s important to cinch the tree tightly before you leave the lot or farm. Most farms or lots will do this for you before you leave, but it’s still a good idea to come prepared with some twine or rope, just in case. Remember that when you get the tree home you have to fit it through doorways, around corners, and possibly even up or down stairways. Scratched-up woodwork and sap-coated doorjambs probably aren’t something you want to have to clean up on the same day you’re trying to set up and decorate the Christmas tree.

5. A cut above the rest

The last thing you should do immediately before putting your tree into the stand is to make a fresh cut on the tree’s trunk, about 2 inches above where it’s already cut. Cuts heal over quickly, and a healed-over trunk won’t absorb water. Making a fresh cut ensures that the tree can drink enough water to keep it fresh and prevent drying out.

Remember that a little bit of planning ahead goes a long way toward ensuring a smooth and pleasant experience when it comes to putting up your holiday tree. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend hours in preparation, but a few simple steps, like inspecting your Christmas tree stand before you bring the tree home, are well worth the time. With that having been said, there’s no time like the present to get prepared, so you’ll be ready to go get that tree right after Thanksgiving!

About the author: Ellen Bell works for Home Products ‘N’ More, an online retailer of unique, hard-to-find products. Looking for a quality Christmas tree stand? Be sure to visit the Christmas Tree Shop at Home Products ‘N’ More to find free shipping on a wide selection of stands and accessories.

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