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Christmas is a magical time of the year steeped in history and tradition. Every family has their own Christmas traditions which can vary hugely. This article examines some of the local customs, traditions and stories over the years. We hope you enjoy reading them and that they may bring back some long-lost Christmas memories of your own.
A Victorian Christmas
James Harshaw, who was a famer and landowner in Donaghmore, north of Newry, and an Elder in Donaghmore Presbyterian Church, kept a diary from 1841 spanning over twenty years. An excerpt from his diary gives an evocative insight into how he and his family spent Christmas Day in 1860:
“Keen freeze and snow still continues, breakfasted with James Martin . . . attended a prayer meeting in the meeting house classroom where I gave-out a portion of the 145th Psalm - which was sung by the Blind boy Samuel McGaw - Read the 1st Chapter of Ephesions and prayed - called on Mr Arch. Murdock . . . A Douglass, James Martin, John and children dined here, with the other members of the family, and I spent a pleasant evening with them all talking about Absalom [James Harshaw’s son Samuel who had emigrated to America]. James Alexander and Johns children played around us.” [spelling and punctuation as in the original].
Poster from a variety show held in Newry Town Hall in 1950. Many of these shows were masterminded by Pat McKevitt, who was from Newry, and had been involved in staging entertainment for the Armed Forces in Britain during the Second World War.
Newry and Mourne Museum Collection
Christmas cooking
Certain foods are associated with Christmas, some of which date back hundreds of years. Rich foods, such as mince pies, Christmas Cake and Plum Pudding which are made with spices, dried fruits and nuts, were kept as a treat at Christmas. Newry and Mourne Museum’s Collection includes a cookery class book from Newry Municipal Technical School dating to December 1904. The book, which belonged to fifteen-year-old Mary Ann Scott of St. Mary’s Street, Newry, contains many recipes for a range of Christmas dishes popular at that time. Another recipe book, which was first compiled by members of the Crawford family from Clonallan, near Warrenpoint, in 1905, shows how the family recipe for Christmas Pudding was adapted over the years to suit changing tastes.
Entertainment at Christmas
The season of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, was originally a period of fasting with Christmas celebrations only happening from Christmas Day onwards and continuing into January. Today, Christmas is celebrated the other around with January being bleak and glum. The traditional idea of post-Christmas Day festivities was still current in the Newry up until the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Dances and other social events were held by various organizations including the Orange Order, INF and AOH, sometimes on the night of Christmas Day itself. Variety shows held in Newry Town Hall, often featuring local talent, were highly popular. Perhaps the only relic of these by-gone Christmas and New Year celebrations is January continuing as the season for pantomimes.
Memories of Christmas in Newry
Over the years, the Museum has collected memories of people within the locality and here are some memories of Christmas around Newry.
Fosters Shop, Hill Street
“Foster’s at Christmas was decorated and lit up the whole length of Hill Street. I remember them having the first Santa you could visit in the store and it was open to 11 o’clock Christmas Eve.”
Decorations and presents
“The decorations would have been in the house for 20 or 40 years. You know they would be all put away in a big box and packed away every Christmas . . . we would get apples and oranges . . . You’d be lucky if you got a chicken . . . You got thru’ pence, and an orange in your sock, so that was it. Maybe sometimes I was lucky because I had grown up brothers and sisters I might get a wee box of sweets…”.
The turkey
“You bought the turkey alive, and you had to carry the turkey home, feathers and all, . . . you kept it alive until maybe a day or two, or three days before Christmas and your father would kill the turkey.”
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The Staff at Newry and Mourne Museum would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thank you for your support throughout the year.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.
Please visit our website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk
by Ken Abraham and Rosemarie Cunningham
