Reclaiming Christmas

Sir, – When I was a child in the 1970s, festive treats in our house were enjoyed from December 25th until “Nollaig na mBan” on January 6th.

Why has Ireland copied the UK and airbrushed out the final five days? Even our schools now start their “Easter” term before Epiphany!

Will we now go further and “Americanise” the festival? Americans don’t celebrate Christmas. They celebrate Advent, calling it Christmas or, even worse, the vomit-inducing “Holiday Season”.

I invite your readers to join me in a push-back against this sad trend. Yanks can keep their “Dark Friday” and “Hyper Monday” or whatever they’re called.

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This side of the Atlantic, let’s reclaim the ancient Fourth-Century Festival of Christmas, which runs December 25th to January 6th. – Yours, etc,

RONAN SCANLAN

Leopardstown, Dublin 18.