‘Belief in Santa Claus seems to be dying out’ – a letter from the children of Ireland of 1938

The schools folklore collection was recorded in 1938. It serves as a valuable window into Ireland before television and the commoditisation and commercialisation of Christmas.

Schools folklore collection from Grangegeeth, Co. Meath.

Christmas Eve is one of the busiest throughout the year. Shopping is done, meals prepared or food for them for Christmas day and the house decorated. The house is decorated with holly and ivy. Sprays are put over pictures on the dresser, on mantels and any nails available.
At nightfall candles are placed in every window and lit by the youngest in the house. They are left lighting all night and the countryside to one blaze of light. One large candle is lit on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Night. Some of the candles are white and some red, green, blue and yellow.
The plum pudding is prepared by some weeks beforehand + by others on Christmas Eve. The ingredients used here are:- flour, breadcrumbs, chopped suet or butter, raisins, sultanas, currants, brown sugar, peel, spices, nutmeg, chopped apples, eggs, new milk, porter (and sometimes treacle) and whiskey. It is boiled in bowls or pudding cloths and in this district is always eaten cold, with tea or lemonade. If the pudding breaks, it is unlucky.
The turkey, goose or fowl is trussed and stuffed on Christmas Eve. Bread stuffing is generally used here. Ham, roast beef, sausages and bacon are widely used also. Apples, oranges and bananas are eaten after dinner and at night.
Everyone remains at home on Christmas Day. No visiting to other houses is done.
The children hang up their stockings on Christmas Eve for the visit of Santa Claus. They hang them over the chimney in the kitchen. They get up early in the morning to examine and search. Belief in Santa Claus seems to be dying out.
People give presents to one another including:- handkerchiefs, scarves, gloves, books, stockings, frocks, pinafores, boxes of chocolate and cakes. Cards are still sent but not in such numbers owing to stoppage of delivery of letters on Christmas Day. A sprig of holly is put in the animals’ sheds.
An extra supply of food is given to them on Christmas Eve. It is believed here that all animals kneel at midnight on Christmas Eve.
“A green Christmas makes a fat Churchyard.”
A lot of berries on the holly is a sign of a bad winter.

Schools folklore collection from Tinure, Co Louth

Christmas is one of the biggest feast day of the year. It is the feast and birth of our Lord. It falls on the 25th of December every year.
There is a lot of custom connected with Christmas. This is one custom. Long ago a man named St. Nicholas used to go round every Christmas eve night putting toys in all the young children stockings, The young children believe still that Santa Claus goes round putting toys in the children stocking.
Long ago the people used to be watching Christmas more than now-a-days. They People used only to drink tea on Christmas night. Now the people drink tea every night, so they don’t be watching Christmas so much.
This is a custom connected with Christmas. All the people make a Christmas pudding. They don’t cut it till Christmas day. They say it is unlucky to cut the pudding before Christmas day. If the pudding breaks when they are boiling it they say they would be dead before next Christmas.
At Christmas if you meet anyone they would greed you with “a Happy Christmas and a bright New year.
It is true to say that at Christmas everyone forgets their worriers and for once enjoys themselves.
On St Stephens day all the girls and boys goes round with the wren. They put a false face on their faces then dress themselves with old clothes. They go in to every house and sings and dances. They first thing they say when they go into the house is: “The wren the wren, The king of all birds, On St Stephen’s day he was caught in the furze, Up with the kettle and down with the pan, Give us a treat and let us begone.”They people gives them five or sixpence then they go.

Snippets from the schools folklore collection

The Tuesday before Christmas day there is the biggest market of the year and that’s the reason it is called An Margadh Mór. All the women round about here keep their turkeys and geese until that day. (Gallagh, Galway)
The shops in Dublin are very busy selling toys to the children and Christmas boxes to the people such as sweet cakes, boxes of Players cigarettes and other presents. The real work for the boys is getting holly and ivy to prepare the house for Christmas. There are many sweet things made such as plum-puddings and sweet cakes. (Lucan, Dublin)
About a week before Christmas the younger members of the family began to clean the house. It was whitewashed inside and outside, the furniture was newly painted, pictures taken out of the frames and dusted and put back in again. (Drumbreanlis, Leitrim)
On Christmas night there are candles lighting on every window as a guide and an invitation to all, who, like Mary and Joseph on the first Christmas Eve, may be wandering about unable to find quarters for the night. In this place poor wanderers are welcomed everywhere and the door is left open for they say that the Blessed Virgin goes around to every house and if the door is open, she goes in and leaves a blessing on the house for the year. (Glencalry, Mayo)
Mrs Barton would have a very big Christmas tree. There were sweets and toys on it. She would invite a lot of children to come on Christmas day and take the sweets and toys. (Drumfad, Donegal)
It is a custom for every child in the district of Adare to write a letter to Santa Claus, an old man dressed in a red coat and a red cap trimmed with white fur, who is supposed to come the whole way from the North Pole to Ireland for to spend Christmas and to give presents to all the good children. On Christmas Eve night when they are going to bed they hang up their stockings; then, when in the middle of the night when they are all asleep, he comes down the chimney and fills their stockings with the presents which they asked him for. (Adare, Limerick)
The children hang up their stockings on the crane over the fire. They expect Santa Claus to put toys into them that night. The chimney is usually swept on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus won’t get sooty when coming into the house. He is supposed to come down the chimney. (Ballyadams, Laois)
A tradition of this locality tells us that on Christmas night long ago, two men stayed up after midnight to see if the water changes into wine, as we are told it does. The two men put their fingers into the water to taste it and their fingers fell off. At twelve o’clock on that night the animals hang their heads to adore Our Lord. (Kilmeedy, Limerick)
On Christmas morning crowds attend the early Mass and receive Holy Communion. Greetings of a ‘Happy Christmas’ and ‘Many Happy Returns’ are heard among young and old. The custom of giving presents prevails in this district. Turkeys and geese are killed for the Christmas dinners. (Leckanvy, Mayo)