North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

The light of day

Long before events in Palestine caused the western world to celebrate December 25th, people in Ireland commemorated the half-way stage of the bleak midwinter. December 21st is the winter solstice - the day the sun stands still - and the shortest day of the year in Ireland. I suspect that, in the past, it was commemorated by ancient astronomers staring glumly at a cloudy sky and telling their expectant companions that, "um, you'll have to take our world for it". This year, the winter sun made an appearance on the day and, while much of the media coverage centred on the path of the dawn sunshine along the passage at Newgrange, the same rays of light marked their path on stone circles across the country; in Glebe, at Broadhaven and on the slopes of the Sliabh Aughties. The solstice also marked the half-way point between the two pre-Christian festivals of Samhain (now the Gaelic word for November) and Imbolic (the coming of Spring, celebrated on the first day of February).

So this holiday period has been celebrated since the beginning of recorded time in Ireland. Mind you, in those days, people didn't jet off to New York for a bit of pre-holiday shopping, though there was probably quite a bit of feasting and drinking - so no change there.

To everyone who has wandered over to this site for a read, left a comment or sent me an Email, Happy holidays to you all.