School: Carlanstown (roll number 884)
- Location:
- Carlanstown, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Séamus Ó Gérbheannaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0708, Page 019
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- XML “Festival Customs - St Stephen's Day”
- XML “Festival Customs - Easter Sunday”
- XML “Festival Customs - May Day”
- XML “Festival Customs - Shrove Tuesday”
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- (continued from previous page)Some of them keep whatever money they make but the majority I am afraid, leave it in the village "pubs" and perhaps it is that night when they are in an exceptionally jolly mood that the "Wren Song" is sung. I do not know it all myself but here are a few lines:"The Wren, the Wren, the King of all birds;
St Stephen's Day, he was caught in the furze.
He dipped his bill in a barrel of beer
To wish you all a happy New Year.
Her body is little, but her family is great
Get up, kind lady and give us a treat.
- Some of the children in this locality have pic-nics on Easter Sunday. They light a huge fire on the top of a hill and make tea and boil lots of eggs.
- Little girls make a "May-bus". They decorate a bush with bits of ribbon, coloured pieces of paper, cloth and bunches of flowers. Then they hold each others hands and dance around it singing songs and reciting etc.
- In bygone days the people used to keep all the Christmas holly and make a fire of it on Shrove Tuesday night. On this fire they would bake pancakes, and a merry feast was held.
