School: Killough (roll number 9540)
- Location:
- Killulagh, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: Mary Lynch
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0726, Page 220
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- XML “Easter Customs”
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- Easter is the happiest time of the year it is kept in honour of Christ rising from the dead. In olden times there were many old customs kept, all the girls and boys when they get their holidays used to go around collecting eggs and they call that their "Easter Cludog". It is customary to eat more eggs on Easter Sunday than any other day. It is said that the eggs that are layed on "Good Friday" are kept and eaten on Easter Sunday. Some people get up to see the sun dancing on Easter Sunday morning. All these customs are fading away now in this part of the country, people say the sun dances, but very few ever are so interested as to arise on this one morning in the year to see this unusual sight.In some localities salt is blessed on Easter Sunday morning in each church and the salt so blessed is kept. Some is sprinkled on the foods used by the domestic animals and it is said this custom of sprinkling salt keeps away sickness and disease for the animals of the farm.Water is also blessed and this water is sprinkled on the crops and on the cattle, and the belief or faith is that cattle and crops sprinkled with this blessed water will be free from all diseases throughout the year.
- Collector
- Kathleen Murray
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Delvin, Co. Westmeath
