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Irish Christmas Traditions, Toasts and Blessings from The Irish Jewelry Company
Greetings!

Want to wish your friends and family Merry Christmas in Irish this season? Well that's easy simply tell them "Nollaig Shona Dhuit" pronounced NO-Lihg HO-nuh ghwich and literally translated means Happy Christmas. Today in Ireland, the most commonly used greeting during the holiday season is "Happy Christmas." Our Celtic Blessing and Claddagh Wreath Christmas cards will also do the trick.

Are you looking for a warm and heartfelt Irish blessing for Christmas? Our Irish Blessing Bread Warmers and Irish Christmas Blessing Plate are perfect. Try this Irish Christmas Blessing....

"The light of the Christmas star to you, The warmth of home and hearth to you, The cheer and good will of friends to you, The hope of a childlike heart to you, The joy of a thousand angels to you, The love of the Son and God's peace to you."

In Ireland fall is the time of the year to make the house ready for the upcoming holiday celebrations. The heirloom stockings,are hung like our Bagpiper and Irish Christmas Stockings. An Irish home is cleaned top to bottom. Special holiday Irish Linens, like our Tartan Kilt Apron are brought out of storage. Once all is clean it is ready for festive Christmas decorating and a cozy turf fire! Cuddle up to our exclusive Irish Country Candles with our popular scents like Turf Fire and Celtic Winter. And for those more romantic winter evenings try our Celtic Love Spell Candle.

Did you know that "Holly and Holly Wreaths" were Irish traditions too? Yep, that's right. No Irish home would be complete without the holly. Holly grows wild in Ireland and is used to decorate the entire house. The Celtics believed holly represented life and rebirth much like the Tree of Life. The evergreen leaves symbolized life during a time when all else was bare and the red berries represented the coming of Spring. With the coming of Christianity to Ireland the berries took on a new meaning, new life in Christ. One charming folklore says holly is put out as a kind gesture to tiny fairies who might use it as a hiding place. Holly wreaths as a door decoration can be traced to North American Irish immigrating to the US during the Great Potato Famine.

The ancient Celts believed that mistletoe had healing powers. Its powers were so great that its presence encourage a brief truce among enemies. Hence the Victorian era custom of kissing under the mistletoe. So turn up theIrish Christmas Music, start playing your Bodhr�ns, hang the mistle toe and let the kissing begin!

Do you put a candle in the window at Christmas time as part of your decoration? Well, guess what that's an Irish Christmas tradition too! Candles in the window date back to ancient time's laws of hospitality towards stronger. To have a light in your window on Christmas Eve to welcome the stranger meant that you were welcoming the Holy Family too. To have no light meant that you shared the guilt of the Innkeeper at Bethlehem who said, "No Room"!

In Ireland they have traditional holiday foods. The Irish Christmas cooking usually starts early with the making of plum pudding, fruit cakes, breads, and spiced beef. A traditional Irish Christmas meal might consist of roasted goose, potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetables, sausages, Irish Plum Puddings, and yummy Irish fruit cakes. Our Fecking Book of Irish Recipes has all the traditional Irish recipes like Irish Soda Bread and Bread Pudding for the holidays with a bit od Irish humor as well. Our yummy Irish chocolates are the perfect holiday stocking stuffers.

Don't forget you can always start your own Irish Christmas traditions ... like putting out your Irish Santa Claus and our hanging a St. Brigid's Cross in the door way for triming your tree with Irish ornaments like our Angel of Ireland Angel.

Most of all don't forget to cozy up to a warm turf fire with authentic Irish Peat and toast your family and friends on Christmas with a lovely Irish Tea after dinner. Impress your family and firends with a "Wee Bit -O- Irish" this holiday season. Try this Irish Christmas Toasts In Gealic, "Nollaig faoi sh�an is faoi shonas duit." It means "A prosperous and happy Christmas to you."

As they say in Ireland on Christmas "May peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch on your door, and happiness be guided to your home by the candle of Christmas."

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A very Scottish Christmas....

In Scotland, Christmas had traditionally been celebrated very quietly, because the Church of Scotland. The Scottish people have their big celebrations on New Year's Day, called Hogmanay.

A long time ago there is a superstition that it is bad luck for the fire to go out on Christmas Eve, since it is at this time that the elves are abroad and only a raging fire will keep them from coming down the chimney. So on Christmas day, people sometimes make big bonfires and dance around them to the playing of bagpipes. Bannock cakes made of oatmeal are traditionally eaten at Christmas.

In Scotland Santa Claus didn't visit on Christmas Day traditional. He would be come after Hogmanay Night on the first day of the New Year.

Now a days it would seem that Scotland is making up for lost time and its four Christmasless centuries by putting December 25 very firmly back on the holiday agenda. It's the perfect time to make your own Scottish family Christmas traditions. Break out the tartan apron, linens and trim the tree with Scottish ornaments.

With all of the festivities, Christmas is a time of parties and get-togethers. Blessings and toasts are often offered to the health of those present, to honor the living and in memory of one who had died. Give this Scottish blessing a try during Christmas and toast to the
New Year: "May God shower joy upon us, my dear family, Christmas brings us all good things. God give us grace to see the New Year; and if we do not increase in numbers may we at all events not decrease."


Christmas in Wales...

As in many countries throughout the world, Christmas and its celebrations are a favorite time of the year in Wales, and there are many traditions connected with it like decorating homes with fresh mistletoe and holly. Mistletoe to protect the home from evil and holly as a symbol of eternal life.

The Welsh are great lovers of music and so every year at Christmas, carol singing is the most enjoyed activity. In the churches, they are sung to the harp. They are sung in people's homes around the Christmas tree and at the doors and windows of the houses.Caroling is called eisteddfodde and is often accompanied by the harp.

Taffy making is one of the most important of the Welsh Christmas. This involves the making of the special kind of chewy toffee from brown sugar and butter. The Christmas goose is also essential.

Today the Welsh people maintain most of the traditional customs associated with Ireland and England such as giving lovespoons, hanging holly and mistletoe, making pudding, singing carols, Christmas stockings, oranges, crackers and lots of snow. Start your own Welsh traditions with our Welsh Christmas ornaments and Welsh tea towels.

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