Christmas in Ireland
Christmas is a very major holiday in Ireland, with all schools and colleges on holiday for almost three weeks and many businesses closing down completely between Christmas Eve and the start of the New Year.
Most people celebrate Christmas with their families, leading to some of the heaviest traffic of the year on Irish roads in the days leading up to Christmas Day as people make their way home. Airports and ferryports are very busy too with many Irish people who work and live abroad returning for the holiday season.
Christmas in Grafton St, DublinThose who might think of Ireland as a place where the commercialisation of Christmas could be avoided may be sorely disappointed - the 'ker-ching' of the cash register is at least as typical a Christmas sound as the carol singers on the streets!
The main streets of Ireland's towns and cities are crammed with shoppers in a frenzy of seasonal buying, which starts officially on December 8th but in reality quite a bit earlier than that.
However many of the older Christmas traditions still endure in Ireland, and Christmas remains a time when friends and family get together to celebrate the season with those closest to them. Some of the more widespead and commonly observed traditions are described in these pages.
More about Christmas in Ireland
A Typical Irish Christmas
We are often asked what Christmas is like in Ireland - and here is the answer, with a look at how a typical Irish family will prepare for, enjoy and recover from the Christmas celebrations.
Irish Christmas Traditions
Christmas traditions in Ireland combine the ancient and the modern, the celtic and the Christian, to create a unique festive blend and a (generally!) cheerful athmosphere.
Christmas Food in Ireland
Mainly the thing about food at Christmas in Ireland is that there is LOTS of it - just like there is in most places! There is a selection of Irish Christmas recipes for you to try here.
Visiting Ireland at Christmas
It may not be really the best time to visit, since many places that tourist would usually visit are closed. But there are some options and we take a look at them here.
What's On at Christmas
Christmas PantomimeDecember 2008
Note: Sleeping Beauty was the 2007 Christmas pantomime, details of what show will be staged in 2008 are not yet available.Billing...
Dublin James Joyce Summer School
July 6th-12th
This school is a joint effort by UCD, Boston College, The James Joyce Centre and the National Library of Ireland, as as...
Clonmel Junction Festival
July 5th-13th
2008 is the 8th year of the festival, which continues to grow and become ever more popular. This year sees performers...
The Nutcracker - Christmas with Ballet Ireland
December 2008
The Nutcracker is a timeless Christmas classic and this production makes the best of the young, talented dancers of the Ballet...
Christmas at Farmleigh
December 2008
Farmleigh is an estate and house in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, which belongs to the government and is used to accommodate...
Enjoy this Article? Tell a Friend! | Bookmark This Article:
