School: Farnham
- Location:
- Farnham, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: F. Magahy
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0975, Page 175
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- On new years eve the people stay up until after twelve o'clock to ring the old year out and the new year in. At Easter the people boil eggs, and people bet with each other to see who will eat the most eggs on that day. The children have a great time also. They all gather together, and buy bread, jam, sweets, cakes and easter eggs. Each child brings his or her own eggs and they go out to a field and light a fire and boil their eggs and have a great feast.
On May day, the people put up a wreath over their doors, and they put a "May pole" and they children dance around it. On the 23rd and 28th June the people light bon-fires. The young members of the family go out and gather sticks, turf and other fire-wood and the light big fires along the roads and in the fields. It is lovely to listen to them playing mouth organs and fiddles, and it is very interesting to see the young folk dancing. This is a very old custom and it is now beginning to die out. On Halloween night the women make boxty and boxty dumplings. The children enjoy themselves very much on that night. A tub or a basin of water is placed on the middle of the floor, and an apple or a coin is thrown into it, and the children try to fetch it in their mouths, some of them fall into the water, some of them get their heads wet and so on. Some of the children like that game more than any of the others.(continues on next page)
