Christmas in Ireland has its own quirks and traditions from the fact that you go to midnight mass at 8 pm to going for a freezing St. Stephen’s Day swim in the sea. Getty
Celebrate the amazing traditions that are unique to Christmas in Ireland.
We’re almost through with the first week of December and edging ever closer to Christmas! In just two days' time, some Irish schools will shut for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Dublin city center streets will be rammed with everyone coming up from the country to do their shopping before the holidays.
After all, heading up to Dublin on December 8 is just one of the many ways you know that you’re Irish at Christmas - the very subject of our video for Day 6 of IrishCentral’s advent calendar.
From leaving a carrot and a Guinness out for Santa on Christmas Eve, to heading to “midnight mass” at 8 pm in the evening, there are certain traditions in Ireland that are just extremely different from those generally carried out in America during the holiday season.
Our favorites have to include those on St. Stephen’s Day (December 26) when many people head to their local beach to wake themselves up after all that Christmas Day eating and drinking with a quick, yet absolutely bone-chilling, dip into the saltwater. The day normally finishes up with scores of people attempting to pack themselves into the local while avoiding a dozen old rivals from school as they squeeze through the throng toward the bar.
Read more: The most beloved Irish Christmas traditions (VIDEO)
Have we missed any of your favorite Irish traditions here? Let us know about them below.
What are your favorite Irish traditions? Is there anything you miss about Christmas in Ireland or do you carry on the traditions in America? Let us know about your typical Christmas in the comments section, below.
*Originally published in December 2017.