School: Castlegrove (roll number 15475)
- Location:
- Castlegrove East, Co. Galway
- Teacher: Liam Ó Conaill
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0040, Page 0016
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- XML “Christmas Night”
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- Christmas night in Ireland is not as exciting an event nowadays as it was in ancient times, but still it is respectfully honored by young and old. Large candles are decorated and lighted by the youngest member of the family, then these candles are placed on stands and one is left on each window. When every window in each house in the village is lighted up, there is no more beautiful sight seen. In ancient times this custom was not known because the poor people used never buy candles because there were no windows in the miserable houses they were allowed to live in by the Landlord. Instead they used rushes, dries and dipped in Tallow. Long ago the door was left wide open in every house on Christmas night but that mark of hospitality to the passer by is nearly finished of with nowadays. The children do not recognise the custom of kneeling outside the door on Christmas night at twelve o'clock to hear the bells of heaven ringing as the children of old times did.
- Collector
- Mary Mooney
- Gender
- Female
- Informant
- Thomas Mooney
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 65
- Address
- Kilconly, Co. Galway
