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You are > Home > In search of the true spirit of Christmas
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Wednesday, December 22, 2004
In search of the true spirit of Christmas
By: Sinead O’Donnell
Christmas, like ourselves, is changing rapidly. Sinead O’Donnell looks at Christmases past Christmas present and offers a personal perspective on the festive season.
In the increasingly capitalistic and commercialised world that we inhabit today the real question that we must ask is not have we lost the true meaning of Christmas; but what does Christmas mean to people these days?
It can be undoubtedly stated that the Ireland we live in at present has seen some radical changes over the past ten years, let alone the past fifty. For the first part of my investigation, the Christmas traditions of times past need to be addressed. As my opening piece explicitly portrays, the Christmases of today are commencing earlier and earlier each year and the hype surrounding this universal festive season is becoming increasingly more dramatic. But why? And what impact is this change having on our society?
Kathleen Early of Knocksaxon, Ballyvary, kindly took the time to speak with me about her memories of Christmases of times past. Kathleen has witnessed the joy and celebrations of three generations of Christmases; her own childhood Christmas, her children’s Christmases and her grandchildren’s Christmases. Since the 1920’s she has experienced and witnessed great changes in how the Irish of the past and the Irish of the present celebrate Christmas. A lot of the traditions carried out in her youth revolved around Catholicism and the Church. Of course, inevitably, Christmas is a holiday which has resulted from the birth of Jesus; therefore he will be associated with it always, to some degree or another. Back in the ’30s, Kathleen reminisces to me about the beginning of advent, November 28th. From this time onwards until little Christmas (January 6th), no dance hall would be permitted to open and hold a dance. It was on this day that the tradition of saying 4000 Hail Mary’s would begin.
“You’d count out how many Hail Mary’s you said as you were going along on a jotter and then on Christmas Eve, when you reached 4000, you’d tear out the leaves of the jotter and stick it in your stocking, which was hung up for Santa, so that he could see how much work you did and hopefully he’d give you a present in return for the prayers,” she says, making the action of pen movements on her wrinkled hands. She learned this tradition from her grandmother and would join her each night, once advent began, saying her 200 Hail Mary’s until the target of 4000 was reached. Kathleen admits that she practices this tradition to this day but felt as a child that it was a bit ridiculous.
The family would all enjoy a big feast on Christmas Eve night before they would all walk together to midnight Mass, when the baby Jesus would be left in the crib at 12 midnight. But the family were not the only ones who would take pleasure in a tasty meal on this night; the animals in the barn outside were also well looked after. They were given oats, meal, turnips, in honour and respect for the way in which they cared for and kept Jesus warm on the night of his birth, with their breath, in the cold stable.
“One thing I miss,” Kathleen affirms, “is the freezing, snowy, white Christmasses, we used to have.” She recalls memories of going down to the lake beside their home and sliding on the ice and throwing snowballs. This is something I could finally relate to (unlike the recital of 4000 Hail Mary’s). But what sort of toys did one receive from Santa? “Big raisins with stones in them”, she answers enthusiastically, her mouth watery as she recalls their taste. “And you might get an orange…if you were lucky”. She indicates however, that her family would have been relatively generous when it came to giving presents to their children. For some children, there stocking consisted of nothing but a couple of cold potatoes.
“The money wasn’t in it in those days — everyone was just surviving,” she says. However, although money was scarce, the people of the village were still expected to give a contribution of “half-a-crown” to the parish priest every Christmas. This amount means nothing to the younger generation reading this article, or indeed to me, but I’ve been told that it was a lot of money, in those days. The nuns also sent out a card to their house at the start of advent. This card can only be described as an equivalent to a Trocaire donation card, where you would go from house to house and collect money and when you reached your quota of five shillings, you would send this amount to the nuns and this contribution would go to charity work. This was their “deed of Christianity” if you will, at this time. They did not have money to buy each other presents (apart from the presents your parents would buy for you and place in your stocking). “Everyone in the village was the same,” says Kathleen, “We all lived in the same types of houses and received the same amount of income.”
This seems to be one of the main problems which ‘The Celtic Tiger’ and capitalism has brought along with it in its stride. The gap between the rich and the poor in our society is rapidly widening. However, from my own perspective, people seem to have their priorities a little bit straighter today then they did in the past. We give presents to our loved ones, family and friends as an expression of good will. We contribute to more charitable works at this time of year and spend time visiting neighbours and friends, who may badly need company and companionship at this time of year. This was one thing I noticed from Kathleen’s description of Christmases past; people stayed with their own families Christmas Day and did not visit neighbours, particularly those that lived alone. But this, I believe, is a time of year to reach out to those in need; be it a close friend, a neighbour or indeed a brief acquaintance.
The Christmas season today has become more and more materialistic and some would argue that the overly decorated houses, may be viewed as a ‘best dressed house’ competition but people have been sucked in by the persuasive power of commercialism and the media.
Speaking of the media; with advances in satellite television, transportation and the internet, one can perceive what’s happening at another side of the world at the touch of a button. Globalisation has finally embraced Ireland, and more and more people wonder if we’re becoming too Americanised. The prosperity of this country has meant that more people from all over the globe are moving and settling down in Ireland, which inevitably means that the notion of being Irish is changing. We cannot all view Christmas from the same angle anymore, because we come from so many different cultures now, that it would be virtually impossible for Christmas to mean the same thing to everyone.
We have not lost the true meaning because the true meaning of Christmas is different for everyone on an individual level. Certain families perform particular traditions which mean something to them and them alone. Remember this Christmas, do not judge the beliefs of others but share the spirit of Christmas which encompasses the world and which is of benefit to people everywhere; giving, loving and respecting others. Next time you think about buying another set of lights to brighten up that fourth Christmas tree you put outside your house; stop and think how that €10 could be spent on a little toy or even a selection box for a child who may not receive any gifts this Christmas.
As Dale Evans once said,: “Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”
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