The Irish Christmas: Home thoughts from abroad

Niwel Tsumba has never seen anything quite like it. “In Ireland, Christmas is very strong,” says the Congo migrant. “Back home people start celebrating Christmas two weeks before. But here, people start celebrating two months early.”

That’s not the only difference he tells HP. A musician by trade, he has been watching developments in Cork, where he now lives, with a touch of wry amusement. You can sense that he sees the whole thing as being a touch on the materialistic side. “Decorations in Ireland are very extreme compared to Congo,” he says. “We don’t have as many Christmas lights up and most of our decorations are hand-made. Here, people are shopping the month before and giving presents is compulsory.”
Do people give presents in Congo? “Yes, but they are usually hand-made. Most people don’t have the means to buy presents. People don’t really focus on presents that much. Most people will have a big dinner with their families on Christmas Eve and then go out to parties and concerts at night. Usually on Christmas Day we sleep in and then we’ll have a big lunch.”
Niwel is not the only emigre to be somewhat taken aback to discover Irish Christmas festivities already in full swing by mid November, as a trip to Moore Street on an overcast afternoon confirms! “The biggest difference between Poland and Ireland is that in our country we do not spend so much time on shopping,” says Robert Nowak from Poland. “Christmas time in Poland is centered around spending time with the family.”
In common with much of Europe, there is a greater emphasis on Christmas Eve than on the day itself.
“The most important day is Christmas Eve, when we have a big supper,” Robert explains. “Typically, there are 12 meals on the table with some hay below the tablecloth. One table is set up for unexpected guests. No meat is served on Christmas Eve, but the most important meal is carp and borscht with dumplings. After supper, everybody sings Christmas carols together and opens presents. At midnight, the whole family goes to mass. On Christmas Day, we have a long breakfast and we’ll visit family and friends through the next day.”
Still, for those who despair at Ireland’s Christmas overkill, it’s encouraging to know we’re not the only ones to get our fur-trimmed stockings in a twist over the visit of Santa Claus/ the prospect of a slap up turkey dinner/ the celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ and redemption of all humankind (delete as appropriate). In fact, some visitors are seriously underwhelmed by our approach! Not enough going on, they say!
“Christmas is very quiet here, compared to the ones back home,” says Elaine Soong, from Malaysia and studying at UCD. “Back home, shops will be open, but there’s practically nothing to do here on Christmas Day. In Ireland, I usually kind of wait ‘til the next day, watching TV the entire day and then go and walk to my friend’s place for dinner. In Malaysia, we usually go out for movies and have a nice dinner in a restaurant on Christmas Day. On holidays there, we go to theme parks in the south. If you have no family and you don’t have a car in Ireland, you can’t get anywhere.”
Which is a fair point – just try getting the lads from Bus Eireann to work on Christmas Day, though!
Meanwhile, before you decry the crassness of our twinkling lights and out-door trees, remember that people from a different cultural background often have a different perspective. ”The lights are very nice and decorations are very pretty,” says Rosaria Conte from Italy. “The shopping is very nice too. It’s different from Italy because we celebrate more with family and not with friends. The gifts tradition is the same. With decorations, Ireland probably starts a little bit earlier. In Italy we start decorations in the city after the 8th of December.”
So just how different is a traditional Irish Christmas from that in the rest of the world? Not very, says Sarah and Pauline from Malawi. “I don’t really see any difference between the two celebrations, says Pauline. “It’s just that in Ireland they’ll start talking about Christmas in October. It was too early for the decorations, but basically it’s the same.”
And with that, she offers a seasonal smile for the camera. As long as we have that much in common with other cultures, we’ll be all right...