Christmas in Ireland

Time sits on the far side of Christmas and just shy of the new year and I've given myself today to catch up on the little things. My older sister and her husband left for the States this morning and my little sister and her boyfriend are relaxing downstairs before spending one last day in Derry tomorrow. So after all of the site seeing, catch-up conversations, Christmas pudding (a traditional Irish holiday dessert which is a heavy, sweet raisin bread covered in custard), shopping excursions, pub visits, and castle explorations, it was time to "have a lie-in" (sleep-in), eat things like spaghetti and pancakes and devote some time to the simple things.

I cannot say that I had any particular expectations for my first Christmas away from Pennsylvania. However, I was excited to experience "home" away from home by having my sisters here with me. Jenae made this extra special by bringing some of our traditional Christmas ornaments with her, including my favorite Santa boot ornament that I've had since I was three. It is hanging on my fake, freely obtained, heavily lighted and gorgeous tree downstairs. She also brought a Christmas story book that we've read since childhood. It was always Bri's favorite and her husband, Joel, gave us all a fantastic reading Christmas morning in a way that only a skilled third grade teacher can. Everything shuts down in Derry on Christmas for the entire day. No movie theaters open at night, no restaurants, not even a pub. Which was great, except for the fact that in the rush of buying ingredients to make Christmas cookies the day before we had forgotten to really consider Christmas dinner. Jenae whipped together a homemade pizza so good no one really missed the ham and turkey anyways. Truth be told, the chocolate was not in short order either, which helped.

Speaking of Christmas cookies, I was unaware that the tasty little morsels fall into an American tradition, or at least, it is definitely not traditionally Irish. So, we three sisters got busy and whipped together plates filled with chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels, and mini shoo-fly pies for good measure and delivered them to Kevin's family and my host Rotary counselor. Smash hit:)

I noticed two wee things about Christmas in Ireland that can be considered fun little cultural tidbits. First of all, Christmas crackers are little merrymaking toys that often accompany Christmas dinners and events. They are not edible but rather look like a toilet-paper roll wrapped in Christmas paper and tied at each end with a festive ribbon. The idea is that you give your neighbor sitting beside you one end and pull the other end and then--POP! The cracker breaks and inside contains a colorful paper crown, a little toy and perhaps a joke (in the flavor of those you would find on a popsickle stick). Most people put on the little paper crown and continue to enjoy lunch, or whatever it may be that people are doing. I thoroughly enjoyed this display, particularly at the Irish Rotary functions where the dresscode is typically a business suit and tie.

Secondly, December 26th is an official holiday. In the UK and Northern Ireland it is called Boxing Day and in the Republic of Ireland, St. Stephen's day. We asked several people what the name means and why it is celebrated. The first people we asked didn't really know, but smiled as if it was the first time they had ever considered the question. We suspected it had nothing to do with the Muhammed Ali's of the world and more to do with some tradition involving boxes, although that seemed obvious. Our inclination was correct. Boxing day was coined when people gave a "Christmas box" (presents) to less materially fortunate members of society. Today, it is a day where many people give a Christmas box to employees or friends on the day after Christmas. Hence, the name Boxing day. In Ireland and other countries, St. Stephen's day honors the first Christian martyr.

So, these things and more added to our first Christmas outside the USA. We learned very quickly that transportation, business opening hours, and museums call it a day with the rest of us which is refreshing and frustrating all at the same time. Although my time with my sisters, Joel and Drew was spent exploring the city and surrounding sites, cooking, shopping, driving and touring, the best part for me was being able to share with them my "Irish" life here and connect my worlds, so to speak. Equally, it was nice to hear about their lives in person and not through email or a Skype connection.

What a fantastic memory to hold for the rest of our lives. If we live to see our 60's and 70's, we can say, "Hey remember the time we spent Christmas in Ireland and stormed castles and ancient forts on seacliffs and baked 'American' cookies for the Derry locals?"