Holiday Greetings from Dublin
Peaceful and joy-full resting and connecting
Dear Friends, A Chairde,
Rather than sending you a full blog today, I am sharing some photos from mo Nollaig, my Christmas, here in Dublin. Nollaig in Irish refers to both the month of December and Christmas itself (Christmas is Nollag and December, the genitive singular of the same word, Nollaig.) December in effect is “the month of Christmas,” mí na Nollag. Nollag comes from Old Irish via Latin, where the original meaning meant “birthday party!” It’s the same root as the French word, Nöel.
Leading up to Christmas, aimsir na Nollag, is my favorite time of year in Ireland. It’s a peak social season, full of charity concerts and events, special markets, parties, and meeting up with friends for a “cuppa” or pionta, a pint. Ireland is far north, so the days are especially short here in winter (these days, the sun doesn’t come up until nearly 9am and sets again around 4:30pm). This makes all the lights and open fires burning in the hearths and socializing even more warming and welcoming.
Here are some photos from one of my favorite Christmas markets, at Killruddery, out near the Wicklow mountains. It’s an old estate, with many of the original buildings, including the old carriage houses:
Given it’s a kind of birthday party, of course there are gifts! My favorites this year had to do with the Irish language. I received this badge from my partner:
Tá cúpla focal agam means in effect, “I have a little Irish.” Literally, it’s “I have a few words” or, “I have a few words at me” (which is how you say that you “have” anything in Irish). It’s a badge to let others know that you have some Gaeilge “at you” and want to use it!
I also received this book, which am sure will be dog-eared by the end of the year:
And here’s a photo from the grand finale of our Christmas dinner, a Yule Log. This recipe (gluten-free by the way) is from Darina Allen. I highly recommend it:
The sun slumbered this week and now begins to wake again—at least in this part of the world. I hope you are enjoying a time of rest and connection, regardless of how you celebrate the sleeping and waking of the sun. From this place of calm and quietness, here’s Enya’s version of Silent Night, Oíche Chiúin:
Later this week, look out for Poetry Sundae; the regular blog will return on the usual next date, January 8th, 2025.
Meanwhile, nollaig faoi mhaise daoibh as Baile Átha Cliath, a Happy Christmas to you all from Dublin,
Dian
P.S. As always, if you enjoyed this and other posts, please “heart” and share it and subscribe (unpaid or even better, paid!). GRMA—thank you so much for your support!
What a great premise for a newsletter! I am so happy to have found your work and am really looking forward to reading more, Dian ☘️🏳️🌈
I enjoyed listening to Silent Nite.
❤️🙏Dor