School: Áth na Coille

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1. Festival Customs

   

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   On St. Stephen's Day that is the day after Christmas Day boys went out around the country and paraded the towns gathering money to bury the wren. These boys were called "Wren Boys". When the wren was caught it was killed and they put it in a box and went around with it. Sometimes they cut a holly bush and in the middle of it they put the wren. They wore straw hats or ordinary hats and polished faces and they wore women's clothes. When the money to bury the wren was gathered the "Wren boys" bought fags and they bought drink with it. On "Shrove Tuesday" pancakes were made in every house. It is the last day to get married before Lent. On Ash Wednesday people took black tea loaf bread and potatoes and herrings for dinner. They put no butter on the bread but they pit jam on it. They ate loaf bread because they would not eat bread wet with milk. On Good Friday the people took black tea also and bread wet with water and jam. Those who did not eat loaf bread had the bread wetted with water. In olden times on Easter Sunday morning they boiled eggs and potatoes and ate them for their breakfast. No person would go near water on Whit Sunday because they were afraid of being drowned because on that day they believe the water has a special drawing. On St. John's Eve bon fires were lighted on the hill tops. The bon fires consisted of turf old hay and sticks which were gathered. On Hallow Eve the young men and boys of the locality

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. events
      1. events (by time of year) (~11,476)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   John Kennedy

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Tanderagee, Co. Monaghan