This time of year gets me all warm and fuzzy about my Irish heritage for some strange reason. Now that I have a house, I’m running rampant, already planning what I really want to do for next year. Lots of holly, the triple candle in every window, family and friends, visiting on St. Stephen’s day … I know I sound cheesy, but there are some really lovely customs that I’d like to bring to my home someday.
In my web meanderings on the subject, I came across a page on how to say season’s greetings in Irish. I actually tried taking Gaelic once, and it completely melted my brain. The pronunciation is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. The letters LOOK familiar,but they’re essentially not. It’s really beautiful, and I should try it again, but after a few short weeks of attempting it, I’m completely awed and intimidated.
When I was a kid, there was an Irish-American family who lived down the street who kept candles in all the windows throughout the holidays. I thought it was so beautiful, those twinkly little lights and the green wreaths and boughs (even though I couldn’t stand their son, but that’s neither here nor there). So I got some cheapie battery-powered single candles for my street-facing windows at Target tonight. Not the end look … but hey, it’s the thought, right? 
Again in the web meanderings, I found several pages on Irish Christmas customs, but here are one or two that are pretty good summaries. In case you’re curious.
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