Valentines |
St. Patrick |
Mothers Day |
Easter |
Halloween |
Christmas |
St. Stephen |
Wakes |
Honeymoon
I get many requests for information about how various holidays
and special occasions are celebrated in Ireland.
For the most part major holidays are celebrated
much the same as in the United States. In doing research to find special traditions in
Ireland I have been surprised to find many of the time honoured traditions that seem to
be part of various celebrations around the world actually originated in Ireland!
One
example I have recently discovered is the tradition of hanging a wreath on the door at
Christmas. Many may remember when the traditional wreaths were made of holly. The tradition
of hangin a circle of holly on the door at Christmas originated in Ireland.
Another that few
people know is the after wedding ceremony custom of a honeymoon. Both the word and the custom
also came from Ireland!
In the states there are holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day,
Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Vetern's Day, Presidents Day (well, you get the idea...)
but in Ireland there aren't a plethora of holidays that people get time off for aside from
Christmas, St. Stephen's Day, Good Friday, Easter and St. Patrick's Day.
Instead 6 Mondays throughout the year are designated 'Bank Holidays'.
On these days banks, shops, schools and almost everything else is closed.
This gives people several three day weekends throughout the year for a holiday.
Many people take advantage of these weekends and take short trips or plan other
activities and you will often find 'Bank Holiday Weekend' specials being run by hotels and B&B's.
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