School: Rathangan (B.) (roll number 15957)
- Location:
- Rathangan, Co. Kildare
- Teacher: S. Mag Lionnáin
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0778, Page 122
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- Saint Stephens day
It is the custom to hold a feast day in honour of Saint Stephen(s) each year.
This feast is held on the twenty sixth of December every year. In Ireland the people have different traditions about that day. In different parts of the country a party (of the country a party) of boys dress up in old clothes and they also dress up an old bush with coloured papers and go from house to house playing some musical instruments and singing the following rhyme.
The wren the wren the King of all birds, Saint Stephen’s day (se) she was caught in the furze although she is good and her family is great. So now my kind lady give us a treat. They travel from place to place collecting money. A very old custom in Ireland is to hold a dance in the houses on that night. St Stephen’s day is a bank holiday and people are free from work and that is why the people enjoy themselves.