Irish Accent Irish Christmas By John Corry	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
宗教色強いアイルランドのクリスマス 90％以上がカトリック教徒であるアイルランドの人々にとって、クリスマスは最大の祝祭です。本格的に準備が始まるのは12月からですが、クリスマス商戦はすでに11月1週目から始まっています。今週は、アイルランドのクリスマスの過ごし方やさまざまな伝統行事を紹介します。

Undoubtedly, the biggest celebration of the Irish year is the annual party that we call Christmas. As the vast majority of Irish people have the same religious background (93 percent Catholic), the Christmas festival dominates the country. However, how you define the celebration depends greatly on whether you own a department store or not.

Every year, tradition vies with commerce, as stores, shops and businesses seem to overwhelm what is considered to be the real nature of the event. The commercial side to Christmas has now evolved its own sets of traditions.

The most obvious, and in my opinion regrettable, commercial aspect is that every year the department stores start marketing Christmas slightly earlier than the year before. This year Irish department stores have outdone themselves by deciding that Christmas should start in the first week of November. The decorations and piped music carols are now in every shop. Too much too soon!

For me, the joy of season lies in the real traditions, which start in December. Family preparations for Christmas help to build up a sense of anticipation. Children, usually those under the age of 10, write letters to Santa Claus, including a list of presents that they would like in exchange for their good behavior. The letters are then placed up the chimney 12 days before Christmas for Santa Claus to collect in some mysterious and mystical manner.

Houses are decorated with tinsel, lights and Christmas trees, and most families will place a holly wreath on the front door of their house. Holly grows wild in Ireland and was used as a form of Christmas decoration by Irish peasants. The early Irish settlers to the U.S., after the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s, brought this tradition to America.

On Christmas Eve in many areas, a lit candle or special light is placed inside the front window of each house. This light has its origins in the traditions of hospitality regarding the family of Jesus, indicating that any traveler in distress will be welcome. Another interpretation is that candle lighting at this time can also be traced back to when pagans lit candles at the midwinter festival to signify the return of sunlight after the winter solstice.

During the day and the evening, you can hear Christmas carols being sung. The popular Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas" comes from a time when the Catholic religion was illegal. The gifts listed in the song are hidden references to Catholic dogma. It was used as a memory aide for Irish people practicing their religion in secret.

My favorite part of Christmas is Christmas day. As most Irish people are Catholic, Christmas morning is almost entirely a religious festival. Most people go to church (Catholic Mass), which will be beautifully decorated with a manger scene before the altar.

Most people adhere to family traditions during Christmas day. My wife's family, coming from a farming background, have large steaks for their Christmas breakfast. That may have made sense as a special start to the day for hardworking farm workers, but I am still trying to get used to it, especially when the steak is followed three hours later by the main event EChristmas dinner.

Christmas dinner is served from anytime from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Usually, this is an exclusively family dinner, where everyone gorges on turkey, ham, stuffing, roast potatoes and gravy.

Among the more traditional Irish elements are spiced beef (spiced over several days, cooked and then pressed), which can be served either hot or cold. The traditional dessert is usually composed of mince pies, Christmas pudding and brandy or rum sauce. Christmas pudding or "plum pudding" is made of dried fruits like raisins and currants, which are plumped up by warm brandy. The pudding is usually liberally covered in whiskey and set aflame just before being sliced and served.

Dec. 26 is called St. Stephen's Day in Ireland. One legend tells of how a wren betrayed the hiding place of St. Stephen from soldiers, which led to his capture and execution. This is one possible origin for the Irish tradition of the wren boy procession.

In my gradparents' era, a holly bush would be carried from house to house by wren boys with ragged clothing and blackened faces. The original custom involved an actual killing of a wren in order to be placed on a pole. This custom died out for the most part, but in the last decade has seen a revival Enaturally using a more artificial wren. In the spirit of changed times, wren "boys" can now include girls, and very often the procession is used as a means to collect money for charity.

The official end of the Christmas season occurs on Jan. 6, the Feast of Epiphany (also known as "Little Christmas"). In some parts of Ireland this is referred to as Women's Christmas, as it was the only day in the entire Christmas period where men would be responsible for cooking. Strangely, that is one Irish custom that we have not succeeded in exporting!

Shukan ST: Nov. 30, 2001

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