For this month's edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon set out to take a critical look at traditional practices relating to that most beloved of calendar custom celebrations; the midwinter festival of Christmas. Combining practices from the Nordic festival of Yule, the Roman Saturnalia and Christian tradition, Christmas is a time of feasting, goodwill and excess; a period marked by the suspension of normal social codes, and where all is mirth and merriment.
Now, as the winter solstice approaches, and with the sun coursing low across the December sky, we fill the house with symbols of regeneration and light to celebrate the return of 'Sol Invictus'; the Unconquerable Sun. Our candles are lighting in the window to guide the weary traveller on their way, our house is decorated with evergreens of holly, ivy and mistletoe, and so we bid our listeners Io Saturnalia, God Jul, Merry Christmas and Nollaig Shona!