Christmas in Ireland

The best thing about Christmas in Ireland is that it never seems to end.  :)  If you think of the beginning of Christmas in terms of when the shops start stocking the ingredients for the famous Irish Christmas pudding, then it could be seen as early as mid-October.  The largest toy store extends its hours to be open daily until 11pm starting November 1st.  (One close friend of mine exclaimed--"11pm everynight?!!?  Is that really necessary?"  Meanwhile, having been used to my local Fred Meyer being open everyday until 11pm, and reeling from typical Irish stores closing most days at 6pm, 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays, I joked back to her, "11pm?!?!?  That's downright American!")  :)

When Alan was growing up, it was also a time of Open Houses.  Not in the modern, let's-invite-people-over-for-a-party sense, but  in the keep some treats at the ready, the front door light on, and welcome visitors who pop in for a visit at any time.   But mostly, it's a tradition of going around to everyone in the family, taking turns who hosts.

That that ritual of visiting family for days on end hasn't changed.  And this is when it's really great to have so many family so nearby.  Christmas day we spent with David, Mary and their family.  St. Stephen's Day (the Irish version of Boxing Day), we were with Alan's aunt Emily.  On New Year's Eve we all met at Joseph and Kathleen's house.

This post is more about the notable differences I saw about celebrating Christmas in Ireland.  It's maybe best told through photos...

 This is a Nativity Creche.  But what makes it unique is that this Creche is in the mall.  

You can barely see the coins that people toss in as donations for the upkeep of the religious installation.  

 This photo is more about what's on the plate:  mince pies and Christmas crackers.  

Mince pies are made of chopped, candied fruit spiced sauce.  

In fact, I Googled mince pies, and here's Wikipedia's description:  

A mince pie, also known as minced pie, is a small British sweet pie traditionally served during the Christmas season. Its ingredients are traceable to the 13th century, when returning European crusaders brought with them Middle Eastern recipes containing meats, fruits and spices.

The early mince pie was known by several names, including mutton pie, shrid pie and Christmas pie. Typically its ingredients were a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Served around Christmas, the savoury Christmas pie (as it became known) was associated with supposed Catholic "idolatry" and during the English Civil War was frowned on by the Puritan authorities. Nevertheless, the tradition of eating Christmas pies in December continued through to the Victorian era, although by then its recipe had become sweeter and its size reduced markedly from the large oblong shape once observed. Today the mince pie remains a popular seasonal treat enjoyed by many across the United Kingdom.

I'm not sure what the Irish would think of being included in the United Kingdom there at the end of this write-up, but for the most part, I trust this interpretation of the mince pie.  If you read the details on Wikipedia, you'll learn that these days there's no meat in the mince meat anymore.  

The Christmas Cracker as Told By Photos:

 These are a really fun tradition.  We had some extra crackers, so we were just having fun over dessert one night.  Again, here the details about crackers from Wikipedia:

Christmas crackers or bon-bons are an integral part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom and Commonwealthcountries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. They are also popular in Ireland. A cracker consists of acardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a small bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction on a chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun). One chemical used for the friction strip is silver fulminate^[1], which is highly unstable.

Crackers are typically pulled at the Christmas dinner table or at parties. In one version of the cracker tradition, the person with the larger portion of cracker empties the contents from the tube and keeps them. In another each person will have their own cracker and will keep its contents regardless of whose end they were in. Typically these contents are a coloured paper hat or crown; a small toy, small plastic model or other trinket and a motto, a joke, a riddle or piece of trivia on a small strip of paper.^[2]

 Toy Advent Calendars

OK, that box that Connor is opening on Christmas morning is actually an Advent Calendar.  A LEGO advent calendar.  A Star Wars LEGO advent calendar.  How cool is that?!!?!?  And why can't we get them in the States?!    Each day, you could punch open a window into a compartment that held a Star Wars mini kit.   Awesome!  

I think Santa thought it was a good Christmas morning present, since Advent is more about waiting for Jesus' birth and His birth story.  ;)

The Pantomime

The Panto, as it's nicknamed, is another fabulously family-friendly tradition.  It's a highly interactive form of family theater, with tricks and gags that are so common, they create a comfortably predictable script.  Imagine how fun that is for kids!  From one year to the next, they know the jokes coming up,
"No we don't"  

-"Oh yes you do!" 

"Oh no, we don't" 

-"Oh yes, you do!"

We went to see to Robinson Crusoe and his Carribean Pirates (they were careful with the title) at the  historical Gaeity Theater near St. Stephen's Green in downtown Dublin.  It was a gorgeous theater!  

I had so much fun!  I didn't have to worry about Ronan crying, Connor could throw a "rock" to knock out the bad guy, and the show started nice and early at 6:30pm!  For sure, if we lived here, we'd be doing that every year.  Oh-we do! 

So yes, we've booked our tickets for this year.  :)

But this time, we're going to a different historic theater for a different show.  This time, we're going to the Olympia to see Jedward!!!  I forget the name of their show this year.  The Olympia booked them for a three-year contract of Pantos, and this will be their last one.  Jedward apparently has a show in London now.  I hope that's going well for them.  I love Jedward.  (I even bought a Jedward poster to bring back to Portland!)  If you can't remember who Jedward is, click HERE to re-read my post about them in the Eurovision song contest in May 2011.)

So that's it.  My favorite Irish Christmas traditions.  Oh wait!  There's one more.  

But I'll have to keep that one to myself for a little while--there's gotta be at least one new thing for our Christmas 2012 blog post.  :)

Thanksgiving in Klamath Falls, 2011

Thanksgiving has involved long-standing traditions in my family.  2011 was the 19th year of our Turkey Bowl tradition.  The Turkey Bowl involves a touch football game with my Northern California family:  Aunt Renee, Uncle John, Cousin Matt, his wife Teresa and their daughter Jenna.  I should also point out that in the beginning my Uncle Mike and his best friend Greg were regulars.  At some point, we started taking turns making T shirts for the event.  Aunt Renee is like our event historian:  she kept all the T shirts!

In the past, we would alternate locations:  one year in Portland, the next in Palo Alto, and so on.  Around 5 years ago, we moved the celebration to a self-catering resort called the Running Y Ranch in Klamath Falls.  We each rent for a week a little chalet that comes with an outfitted kitchen and washer and dryer.  It works out really well.  Klamath Falls is about halfway for both families.   And since we pack in, pack out our food, we actually buy and eat less.  We've also had snow for some years, and that has added to the fun for sure.

What's really nice about having such a long-standing tradition is that we've learned how to go with the flow.   You know how holidays can make some families totally stress out about creating a perfect memory?  Well, we know that some years are just more stressful that others.   We've been sharing the holiday for over 20 years (we started even before we added the Turkey Bowl), and we've been in different places in our personal lives along the way.   I was in high school when this all started.  I introduced Alan to the family and announced our engagement at Thanksgiving.  We were in Caliornia when I was 8 months pregnant with Connor, and we back there again after my big car accident in October 2007.   It's just a magnificent family time.

It worked out well that I married an Irishman, because we were never really conflicted about where to spend holidays, "We can spend Thanksgiving with my family, and Christmas with yours."  :)

Portland Visit November 2011

Me, Connor, and Ronan flew home to Portland for our annual family Thanksgiving holiday.  It was a whirlwind of a trip, and remembering it one year later makes me a little nervous.  I'll be making the same trip again in a few weeks.  

I opted to buy a ticket from Dublin-Amsterdam-Portland.  I wanted to get there as fast as possible, and this was the quickest way.  So we had to endure a super-long, 11 hour leg from Amsterdam to Portland.  And I thought that was the only challenge.  But when I was double checking my ticket, I realized that I was to spend the night in Amsterdam!  No wonder the ticket was so cheap.  That was a nightmare.  We arrived in Amsterdam around 9:30, got to our hotel by 11pm.  Ronan basically cried the whole night, so no sleep for us.  And then we were up and out by 6:30am the next morning.  

We were exhausted and it didn't get much better.  Ronan wasn't comfortable with my Nana and Papa, so he was "making strange" for most the first week.  Then, when we got to Klamath Falls for our Thanksgiving celebration, Ronan got pretty sick.  Combine that with the time zone change, and you have a baby that was waking up almost every 5 hours or so.   We drove straight from Klamath Falls to the doctor's office to get an antibiotic.  Once he was feeling better, though, my mom was sick!  With all my family's best intentions to get some good time in with the kids, it didn't work out that way at all.  

I did have a bit of culture shock when I went back out to our neighborhood in the suburbs, though.  Big box stores, huge, wide lanes of traffic, tons of parking lots, more big box stores, more cars...Convenience, convenience, convenience.   Almost too much convenience.  It was hard for me.  I find it all ugly, to be honest.  But I know why we're there:  Alan has a 15 minute commute to work, and we're in a good public school district.  (At least it was good before that HUGE budget shortfall.)  But my heart is in the city, so it was super nice staying with my parents near Overlook Park in N. Portland.  

I sure did love being back in Portland!!!  I REALLY loved being back in Portland!  I was able to walk around on Saturday.  I took MAX to Saturday Market, walked around Pioneer Place, got some Oregonian themed T-shirts at Made in Oregon, grabbed some coffee at a hipster cafe in Old Town, and soaked it all in.  I LOVED it!  

I was able to see lots of friends at a brunch potluck that my mom, dad, and sister hosted for me.  That was fabulous, and very kind of them to do that work right before we had to leave for Klamath Falls.  I love my friends.  They are so low-maintenance!  I don't hear of many friends who bring their own food to a party and then help clean up afterwards.  But beyond that, a couple of them sorted through the garbage to make sure all the compostables were set aside!  Love them.  :)  I brought over Cadbury Flake candy bars to give as treats, since they are typical in Ireland, are super delicious, and I've never seen them in the States.  

Connor was able to connect with his friends, too.  We organized another LEGO night, which was great.  Lego toys, potluck dinner, and fun with friends.  It was great to see him with his buddies again.  

I'm looking forward to my next visit, it's in just in three weeks now!  Woo Hoo!

 Making LEGO creations.

 LEGO night buddies.

 Amy, Kim, and Denise composting.  :))

OK--these two pics are a couple of things that struck me as particularly American.   

 Bulk foods' section in the grocery store.  This is where you can buy chocolate, candy, flour, oatmeal, rice, pasta, nuts, loose tea, and even laundry detergent.  You simply grab a plastic bag, scoop out as much as you want, and write the item code on the tie tag.   (Now that I think of it, I remember being surprised by this when we moved from Boston, too.  Maybe this is a more west coast thing?)

 You gotta have a latte while you shop for you weekly groceries, right?

These next few pics are from visits with friends.

 Baby Zivah loves to hug!  She was adorably persistent with Ronan.  :)

Stacy with Ronan and Zivah.

Happy Birthday, Me

Surprise! Happy 50th Birthday, Alan

For Alan's 50th, I decided to throw him a surprise party with all the family invited.  It's amazing, when we have a family party in Oregon, and they all come (including Ronan), there's 7 people.  When we throw a party in Dublin, and invite all the family, there's a guest list of 30.

After contemplating renting a fancy venue, I decided that throwing the party at home was better.  With the kids running around, and Connor's toys and Ronan's crib nearby, it seemed the best option.  So I didn't have to cook for everyone, I hired the same caterers who served us at Ronan's Christening.  Ahhh, now I could relax and enjoy the party.  :)

I had told Alan we were going out for a special Tango night, but David wanted to take him out in the afternoon first.  David would be bringing him back home so we could then go out.  So Alan was completely surprised when he got home to see everyone there.  First thing he said was, "I guess we're not going out tonight.  ;)"

It was a great party and fun to have a full house!