The strange and cheerful traditions of the redheaded Irish have become popular all over the world. Take for example the clover, which is supposed to bring good luck. This tradition has already been heard of far beyond the borders of Ireland!!! The Irish culture, the history of which goes back to 8000 B.C., was immersed in a lot of superstitions, mysticism and different fads.
And by the way if you dig deeper into history, many historians believe that the homeland of the redheaded Celts is between the Dnieper and the Danube. Scientists believe that the Celts of Ireland descended from the farmers and cattlemen of the Black Sea.
4,000 years ago the main characteristics of the “island” (different from the Gallic) genome of the Celts – and the Irish people – were formed. And the ethnic basis of the Irish nation is formed by the Celtic tribes of Gaelic, which came to Ireland from the Black Sea coast over several centuries.
And yet back to the strange Irish traditions.
Birthday upside down!
An old Irish tradition that is still quite popular today. It encourages the practice of lifting a child upside down. You have to hold the baby’s legs and make a couple of gentle bumps with his or her head against the floor. It is stated that the number of blows he receives should correspond to the age he enters plus one. This is meant to wish him good luck next year. It’s roughly how we have birthday boys being pulled by the ears.
In addition to being rather unusual, it becomes clear why this practice loses its force after the end of childhood adolescence. Could you imagine a grown man being turned over and banging his head on the floor?
Borrowed Days
In addition, another tradition or belief that is closely associated with the Irish is the “Borrowed Days. The first three days of April are called such, because of an old legend where a mythical cow walked around in March and no one wanted to milk her (another version says to kill her). As expected, this angered March, causing him to take three days of terrible weather from April to finish off this despicable cow. This is actually a story of bad weather, which often attacks the first three days of April throughout Ireland.
St. Brigid’s is a divorce without ceremony
The feast of St. Brigid comes to us from pre-Christian times and was known in pagan times as “Imbolc.” Translated from Old Irish, “Imbolc.”
Another Irish tradition is precisely related to the feast of the main female saint of Ireland, St. Brigid. She is often considered second only to St. Patrick. Her feast falls on February 1 of each year, which coincides with the traditional beginning of spring and Imbolg, an ancient pagan feast. A tradition that lasted until the 1920s. It consisted of couples getting legally married that day in Telltown, Meath County, simply by going to meet each other. And if the marriage failed, all they would have to do to legally dissolve the marriage was to leave each other at the exact same place on the same day the following year. This custom stems from the old Bregon laws in Ireland, which allow for temporary marriage contracts.
Why, it is a very interesting tradition.
Going to a wedding without an invitation
In another Irish tradition, it is considered a custom to attend a wedding uninvited. It is considered perfectly acceptable for young male wedding offenders to come to a wedding uninvited, and special straw hats disguise their identity. Called “straw boys,” these young men wearing straw masks and sometimes even long coats made of straw often seek out weddings, molest free women, and dance with them! After completing their strange little jig, the straw boys then disappear as quickly as they appeared, not to be identified. Until the next wedding. What’s interesting about this tradition, aside from its creative use of straw, is that it has managed to survive and thrive in modern Ireland-especially in the western parts of Ireland, where the tradition originated.
The Girls’ Party
The traditional “girls’ night out party” is still popular in Ireland, though less and less so.
“Nollaig na mBan” or “Little Women’s Christmas” is an old custom still celebrated by women all over Ireland. It goes back to the days when large families were the norm in Ireland. Men back then never did household chores in Ireland. For example, if a man did the dishes, he would be called an “old woman” in front of other men. No real Irishman would have been willing to take that risk!
But every year, after the Christmas holidays, tired women finally got a break-at least for one day. On January 6 (the same day as Epiphany), the men did the housework, offering the women a chance to rest with each other. Most often the women went to a nearby pub, where they drank and ate at their pleasure.
Dead Raven Day
You’d think St. Stephen’s Day, Dec. 26, would be a day to sleep in peace, resting after Christmas looking at presents and finishing leftover Christmas turkey. But, not in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland. It’s a fairly quiet town in the summer months, filled with tourists in the winter. And it’s all about the dead crow. On this day, people here wake up early, and by 6 a.m. the streets are full of people in straw masquerade costumes. They strut around town waving banners to proclaim Vronon Day (pronounced “wran”). This is done to the accompaniment of traditional Irish music. On Wran Day, no one sleeps in town from morning until morning. The popularity of Raven’s Day celebrations declined greatly in the early 1990s. But in the last few years, young people in Dingle have breathed a second breath into the tradition.
The day was once practiced throughout Ireland. Groups of mummery musicians and dancers would go door to door, or pub to pub, collecting money or food. On a tree branch decorated with ribbons they hung a dead crow.
If no donations were given in the house, there was a danger that a dead crow would be planted in your house or under your doorstep to bring bad luck for the next 12 months. Therefore, most often the dead bird was buried at the end of the feast day, throwing a few coins to it (the rest of the money collected went to buy booze).
This bird was chosen as a sacrifice because of the belief that this bird betrayed a group of Irish soldiers. It sat on a drum, and tapped it with its beak as they approached part of Cromwell’s army. Alerted to the approach of the enemy, Cromwell’s men killed all the Irish. For this, the bird must always be punished, the Irish believe. Fortunately, nowadays, instead of a real bird, an imitation of a dead bird is used.
This once very widespread custom in Ireland has almost disappeared, except in the town of Dingle, where an entire day is devoted to its celebration.
Heather Sunday
It is an almost forgotten tradition in Ireland. Today, few people in Ireland remember what heather looks like anymore. And how to gather it.
Heather Sunday is a charming old festival that lives only in the distant memory of Ireland. Celebrated in midsummer, it was one day when people would head out into the hills and peat lands in groups to gather heather and sometimes to find a spouse.
Heathers are tiny, intensely blue berries similar to blueberries, though they are about twice as large. They grow in acidic soils, have a sour-sweet taste, and when you bite into them, they are yellow inside.
Gathering heather was so difficult that it took all day. So among young men and women who spent long hours picking berries together, Heather Sunday became known as courtship time. It is said that many guys met their wives on this very day. Now, unfortunately, most Irishmen don’t even know that heather exists here.
Pub Etiquette
The Irish are very, very fond of pubs. They even have their own pub etiquette. The decisive thing here is the “circular” system, in which each member takes turns paying for his or her order. To an outsider, this may seem random. You’re not necessarily told that it’s your turn to pay, and you’ll even find that other boozer participants may seem too happy to replace you. But make no mistake, your refusal to “put your hand in your pocket” will be noticed. People will remain silent, but will mention it the moment you leave the pub. Reputation will follow you to the grave, after which it will be attached to your offspring and possibly their offspring, too. In some cases, it may even become a permanently fixed family nickname. That is why it is always calculated in Irish pubs.
The weather in Ireland – the ultimate triumph of optimism over experience
It is often said that the Irish are people of the Sun. Therefore, they only come around when the sun shines for several consecutive days (which was last seen in Ireland, back in the days of St. Patrick). For the same reason, Irish people for some reason dress for conditions in Palermo, Italy, all the time, rather than for the weather in Dublin. So it’s not unusual to see people in shorts in March drinking cool beers on the summer grounds of pubs and cafes, enjoying the air and the soft caress of rain or hail on their faces. The Irish attitude toward the weather is the ultimate triumph of optimism over experience: every time it rains, they look up at the sky with wonder.
St. Patrick’s Day
Of course the most famous Irish holiday is St. Patrick’s Day. March 17 is a holiday not only of the Irish saint, but also of the Irish soul. This holiday has outgrown national boundaries and has become a kind of international day for Ireland. Various cities around the world – New York, Buenos Aires, Melbourne – celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Bright processions, parades and festivities of people dressed in green (the national color of Ireland) can be seen everywhere where the Irish live. On this day, people wear a clover, the symbol of Ireland and good luck.
Traditionally, St. Patrick’s Day parades are organized. The tradition is believed to have originated in Ireland. New York and Boston in the United States dispute the palm. New Yorkers claim that the first parade took place in 1762 in their city. At that time Ireland was under the rule of the British, and it is possible that the inhabitants of the unruly North American colonies expressed their solidarity with them in this way.