Christmas Traditions Ireland

In preparation for the holiday season, homes in Ireland are cleaned top to bottom. We normally only do that here in the US when special family members are coming to visit or it's spring. Mantles are often decorated with holly and mistletoe is hung in doorways. Trees are often decorated with ribbons and holly and set near a window to be seen by passersby. We do similar things here in the US, but many of us have special decorations that have been passed down that we also put on the tree.

As Ireland is predominately Roman Catholic, attending services on the night of Christmas Eve instead of the morning of Christmas is common. It is usually held at midnight and everyone who attends is given a candle blessed by the Bishop of the church, to light. We had this when I would attend services growing up as well, only as we aren't Catholic, it wasn't blessed by the Bishop.

Unlike here in the US, children do not leave out stockings, but leave sacks to be filled with toys on Christmas morning. As a sign of hospitality, after dinner on Christmas eve, families will often set aside milk and bread (or mince pies and Guinness). Here, we leave milk and cookies for Santa and sometimes carrots and celery for his reindeer.

Noilaig Shona Dhuit (pronounced as null-ig hun-a dit) or Merry Christmas in Gaelic! Christmas day in Ireland focuses more on the religious versus the secular, but children do receive gifts. Christmas is a time for families and dinner is traditionally served in the afternoon. The main course is usually a goose, turkey or chicken and sides include stuffing, gravy, and potatoes. For many, this is the largest meal of the year whereas in the US, we have several including Thanksgiving and Easter. Dessert is usually a Christmas pudding with a rum sauce.Often after the lavish meal, the kitchen table was again set and on it was placed some bread and milk and the table was adorned by a lit candle. if Mary or Joseph, or a wandering traveler, happened by, then they could partake of the hospitality. This is what Christmas pudding is in Ireland: 


One unusual custom in Ireland on Christmas day is the Christmas day swim where people wearing nothing more than a swimsuit and a Santa hat plunge into the Atlantic or the Irish sea where temperatures are a mere 50 degrees in the water and much colder outside of the water. Although judging by some of the photos I saw of this, people do sometimes dress up in costumes. I found this image which shows Alan Heffernan at the 40-foot which is south of Dublin.





The candle in the window or Coimmeal Mór na Nollag, usually placed by the youngest member of the family. The idea was to light the way of the holy family who were travelling. It was also lit to show strangers that there might be an offering of food in the house within. Sometimes, there were three candles lit because Jesus, Joseph and Mary were looking for a place to stay. this was to show that they were welcome in an Irish home, even if they could not find a place in Bethlehem. During the Penal Times (1695-1793/1829) in Ireland, Catholic priests were forbidden to perform Mass, so the candle acted as a covert signal that the occupier was a Catholic believer and that mass could be held on the premises.

Economy

For all of the talk lately that the economy is doing better now than at any other point in history, why is it that when I submit an application for a job outside of New York City, I often have to compete with several hundred other applicants (often as many as 800)? The stock market is doing well, but those of us who cannot afford to invest in it are not doing well. The supposed tax break we got last year has been eaten away by all of the tariffs this administration has enacted.

If the economy were indeed doing as well as “experts” say that it is, people would be fully employed and making a fair, living wage and not having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Living in the US has become prohibitively expensive in so many cities and yet those of us who want to leave, can’t because we can’t afford to. It is a catch-22. We can’t afford to stay because the cost of everything from the subway to rent to groceries is so high, and yet we can’t afford to leave because of all of the reasons mentioned above. How can we change things so that the average person can afford to live and save for the future or an emergency?

If companies would pay a fair, living wage at every level from the cashiers at Wal Mart and McDonald’s to the pickers in the fields to the warehouse workers at Amazon and those in office jobs, more people would have money to spend, thus boosting the economy. They would also have money to save, which helps them when they have an unexpected expense, such as a medical expense.

Another thing that would help everyone would be universal healthcare also referred to as Medicare for All. This would be a game changer and a money saver for everyone, especially those who currently have no insurance (such as myself) simply because it is too cost prohibitive between the monthly premiums, the co-pays and deductibles. As of April 2019, 7 candidates for President indicated that they support Medicare for All, including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif), and Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii). Five support Medicare or Medicaid expansion, including Joe Biden and Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey). Elizabeth Warren is for it, but as of the publication of the article I read from Axios, she didn’t have a clear plan in place. (https://www.axios.com/2020-presidential-candidates-medicare-for-all-7d958bab-de34-4d8c-921d-b561f201c4c2.html)

BASEBALL

Growing up in small town Vermont, one of the few things for boys and girls to do in the spring and summer was play baseball. I tried little league, but was never any good. My brothers on the other hand, played like they were born to it. You could always tell when the seasons were changing from winter to spring because they would be playing catch in the street in front of our house because the snow hadn’t fully melted yet. Locals would know that this was happening, so would be on the look out and the niys would also be paying attention and would get off the road when cars would come. As this was the only road between Vermont and New York in this area, there wasn’t much traffic.

They continued playing all through high school and Noah even played in college. They still love the game and until today, when I saw Field of Dreams in theaters i had forgotten how much I also enjoyed the game.

I have only been to one professional game, but have been to many little league, middle league, high school, college and minor league games. I’m not a sports person in the sense that i have a favorite team for any sport, but I know the major teams in baseball, basketball and football simply because it is everywhere and when you are a cheerleader in high school and your crush plays both football and basketball, you quickly learn the names of the teams and whether they are any good. I know that the major baseball rivalries are Yankees and Red Sox and that the subway series is a series of games that people in NYC can get to using the subway. I have lived in Brooklyn for 6 years and haven’t been to a game, mostly because it takes forever to get to either Yankee Stadium or Mets stadium.

I had forgotten just how good and moving of a movie Field of Dreams was until Ben Mankowitz of TCM movies gave commentary about how he immediately called his father in Washington after seeing the movie to tell him about it. The theater was quite empty, but those there were happy to be there and enjoyed the movie. Some of the classic lines such as “If you build it, he will come” or “Go the Distance” or “Ease his pain” are generally forgotten until one sees the movie again. Despite not having seen this movie in close to 20 years, I know many of the lines, like when Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by Ray Liotta asks Ray Kinsella if this is heaven and Ray answers, “no, it’s Iowa.” A sentiment that is played again at the end of the movie when John Kinsella, Ray’s father makes an appearance and again asks if this was heaven. The difference is that Ray asks John if there is one and John answers yes.

Next week I see Forreat Gump for the first time in theaters and I’m very much looking forward to it. Movies when I was a kid were a treat because taking 4 kids to the movies would just be too expensive, so we would buy movies on VHS and later on DVD. I grew up watching the classics and popular movies and to this day, as a 40 year old adult, movies, books and music are still a very, very important and big part of my daily life.

New York at it's finest

There are oh so many things that I hate about living in New York but for each one of those there are an equal number of uniquely NYC things that I love. This morning on my way out of town, it was foggy and a little misty. It was starting to get light, the temperature was mild (upper 40s) and no one was on the streets. I missed my bus my minutes but didn't mind because it gave me time to walk to the subway and enjoy the morning. I got to my station and the train was coming into the station which rarely happens. I get to 34th street herald square and there are no tourists and Macy's windows are in full display, visable to all those who choose to stop and admire. The sky is as light as it will get, but looking north towards times square,  you can see doom and gloom just beyond the bright and garish lights. Mornings like this make me grateful to have the opportunity to live and work here. I'm on my way to DC for the weekend and even though it is supposed to rain, I dont care.

Next steps and moving out of New York

I have been in New York for 5.5 years now and recently have been thinking about my future and next steps. When I went to college, I majored in Legal Studies and at the time, I enjoyed it, but after working in the field for the past few years, I find myself increasingly bored with this subject.

It is very difficult to find a good job here and be good job, I mean a job that pays one enough to pay their rent, electric bill AND groceries in the same month. So many jobs pay $15 an hour or less and don't offer any benefits. This has led me to explore my options and apply for jobs in other cities including Boston and Washington. I went to Boston on Monday for an interview and while I only had 90 minutes to see the city, what I did see I liked. It was very clean and the few people I had the opportunity to interact with, were pleasant and helpful. The city was clean with not a single piece of trash to be seen, let alone giant piles of trash on the sidewalk. Taking the T was slightly more complicated than I had anticipated, but I managed NOT to get lost and successfully managed to get to and from Boston with no issues. I had to go to an appointment in Quincy and while taking the train was easy, the bus was more complicated. I asked the driver to confirm that this was the right bus and even after giving an address, she was not at all helpful. Getting to the appointment was much easier (and faster) than returning to Boston. I had to wait for 40 minutes for a bus but once it came, it was quick to load and unload passengers.

After doing some serious thinking and talking to Alex and some friends from Europe, I have decided to research the process of moving to France. I have been dreaming about retiring to the South of France since I was in high school, and when I would get to French class, I would immediately pick up a book and dream about living and running a small inn in Provence. I'm turning 40 in a few months, have no husband, boyfriend, pets or children, so this is a perfect time to make a move such as this.

I'm looking to move to Paris mostly because it is a major city and I can still access the rest of the country and explore other countries quite easily using the amazing transit system and cheap flights through out Europe. I'm in the beginning stage of this, but everywhere I turn, I see another sign pointing me in this direction. Any advice and suggestions are welcome.

NYC room rental stories

As many of you know, I just moved into a new place at the beginning of November and now have to move again as the lease holder is giving up the apartment. When I first started looking in September, there was a lot more inventory for long term rentals. Now, much of what I am finding are sublets for the holidays. Just when you think you find something you can afford, you open the ad only to discover that the "affordable" price isn't for a month, but for a week.

I went to see a room last night in a decent neighborhood, just about a ten minute walk from the subway. I found the place without too much trouble, but when I got there, there was a giant FOR SALE sign on the building, there was no sign of life (no lights were on in any of the apartments and the only light I could see was behind a boarded up front door). The building looked abandoned, and I was pissed off. I called the person I had been emailing and it went directly to voicemail, but as it was full, I couldn't leave a message, so I sent an email-no response, so I start walking back to the subway. I get to the end of the block and am asking a guy walking his dog how to get to the station that I needed and my phone rings. I answer it and it's the person I was supposed to meet, saying they received a missed call from my number (never mind that when I sent the initial email, I included my name and number). I told them that I had an appointment to see the room, and they wanted to make sure I knew that it was the living room and for January 1 (yes, otherwise, I wouldn't have wasted my time). They asked where I was, so I told them (not even a full block away) and they told me to call back when I'm outside of the building and asked if I had the address (duh). I get back to the building and call and again, it goes directly to voicemail. I ask another random guy on the street (only men seemed to be out last night) how to get to the station and he told me, so I head that way. I get all the way there only to discover that he was right when he advised that the station was closed for repairs (Google maps seriously needs to update this information). I turn around to go all the way back to the other train and my phone rings and it's the person I was supposed to meet, saying I'm downstairs and no one is here. I advised that when I called and it went to voicemail with no immediate call back, I left and was pissed off and freezing. I advised that when I got there, the building looked abandoned and they had no comment about that. I went back to the subway and headed home after that.

It's already hard enough to find something in my price range ($700) that doesn't require a $75 application fee, 40x the rent and a credit score of 680+. Places like this make it infinitely more difficult. This, unfortunately, isn't the first time I have had issues. I went to look at a place in Bushwick, which is supposed to be a "hip" neighborhood, but when I got off the train, all of the lights on the platform were off (ok, things happen, I get it, but it was really dark and a little nerve wracking). I get out of the station and start heading toward where I am supposed to be and discover that there are only a few businesses open (all of about 5 businesses were on the street to begin with and only 2 or 3 were still open at 8pm on a Thursday), there was little to no vehicle traffic and maybe 5 people on the street. I got about 6 blocks from the subway, and as I had a weird feeling in my gut, turned around and headed back and went home.

Is it too much to ask for people to respond to emails and when they do respond, to answer the three or four questions I ask? Is it really that difficult to say the rent is x, here is the location and the requirements for move in are y? Hopefully, by this weekend, I can see a few other places and put what little money I have down as a deposit and can move in right after Christmas as I have non-refundable tickets for DC for New Year's.

Christmas Traditions around the world part 3

My friend Sara Parris chose Scotland, so here goes.

One of the most interesting facts I found was that Scottish traditions haven't been around for very long. For nearly 400 years, Christmas as we know it was banned in Scotland.  Parliament issued a ban in 1647 during the reign of Oliver Cromwell that was upheld for nearly 15 years. When Cromwell fell from Grace, the ban was lifted in most of the UK, but not in Scotland. The Scottish Presbyterian Church continued to discourage Christmas festivities, including formal mass and people suffered penalties if caught celebrating. This lasted for nearly 400 years. Well into the 20th century, Scots worked on Christmas day. Few adults exchanged gifts, although small children received small treats and tokens. Some families had small evergreens in the home or decorated doorways with holly.  December 25 didn't become a public holiday in Scotland until 1958 and Boxing day wasn't recognized until 1974. http://christmas.lovetoknow.com/Scottish_Christmas_Traditions

One tradition that was banned for so many years was the baking of the Yule bread. During the ban, bakers were required to give authorities the name of anyone who requested this holiday staple. 

A loaf of unleavened bread is baked for each individual in the family and the person who finds a trinket in their loaf will have good luck all year.

A popular tradition on Christmas eve is to burn a branch of the rowan tree which signifies that any bad feeling between friends and family has been put aside for Yuletide. It is believed that if the fire goes out on Christmas Eve, the family would suffer bad luck in the coming year. I find this to be interesting and it seems like it would be a tradition worth starting for a family that might want to try something new for the holidays. http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas/scotland.htm

In Scotland, the big holiday is not Christmas, but on New Year's day which is called Hogmanay. 

Next up are Ireland, France, Morocco and finally, the United States.