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Traditions in Ireland
The biggest day in the Irish calendar year would be St Patrick’s Day,an old tradition for the Irish to celebrate. Today the St Patrick’s Day tradition is celebrated my millions worldwide with thousands of parades taking places in many different countries. Many people celebrate the St Patrick’s Day traditions by drinking green beer, wearing of the green and general celebrating their Irish heritage but in Ireland, our St Patrick’s Day tradition is celebrated differently.
For us in Ireland we celebrate St Patrick's by usually attending church with the family and wearing the shamrock on the breast. Once church is over most families would sit down together for a huge meal with many watching the parades in the United States that were aired on television. It was only recently that Ireland started holding big parades and it was law for Irish pubs to remain closed for St Patrick’s Day, but that law was abolished to help attract more tourists to Ireland for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
With the introduction of Christianity into Ireland by St Patrick many people in Ireland still celebrate their holy days which has traditional been done for hundreds of years. The majority of Irish people are christened as Roman Catholic, usually within a number of weeks of being first born. At an early age, usually 6 or 7 years old, many of us make our First Communion, which is a holy tradition in Ireland and a child’s first acceptance of the Body of Christ. Before going into our teenage years, we would make our Confirmation in which we make a pledge to God to do good but more importantly not to drink alcohol until over the legal age limit, if broken its frowned upon by many families.
Christmas in Ireland
A special time of year in Ireland is Christmas day that holds many special meanings for most Irish families. Learn more about our traditions by reading Christmas day in Ireland.
Easter traditions in Ireland
Easter is a speical time for the Irish religious calender and is marked with a number of holy traditions. Read Easter in Ireland for more information.
Irish Funerals
When someone dies in Ireland it is usually tradition to have a wake house for up to two days before a burial, this is usually held within someone’s home and not a funeral parlor, seen in other counties. The ‘wake’ is to allow family and friends to meet up and pay their last respects to the recently departed and to celebrate a new beginning for the dead. It is a common Irish tradition that someone stands over the coffin of the dead throughout the two nights praying over the deceased, usually saying the rosary. On the day of the funeral its tradition that close family members carry the coffin to the Church for the funeral, or at least part of the way, with family and friends following behind.
There are many other different Irish traditions that we celebrate around the world from our Irish food to Irish dancing but whatever the tradition is it is important that we keep them alive just as our past generations have.