Calendar Traditions Today

Newer traditions seep into the collective consciousness. Many of these, such as St. Valentine’s Day – historically of little significance in Ireland – and Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, have a heavy commercial slant. St. Patrick’s Day has changed beyond all recognition over the past 50 years, and the past 20 in particular. The Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan, is a firm part of Ireland’s modern calendar customs, while the Chinese New Year, with the support of Dublin City Council, has grown into a major celebration in Ireland.

Song for New Years Day

This carol was composed by Bishop Luke Waddinge and published in the 'Pious Garland' sung to to the tune of Neen Major Neale.This carol is also known under the title 'On the Circumsision New Years Day'

Song for New Years Day

Song for New Years Day

This carol was composed by Bishop Luke Waddinge and published in the 'Pious Garland' sung to to the tune of Neen Major Neale.This carol is also known under the title 'On the Circumsision New Years Day'

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Festival is a social phenomenon encountered in nearly all cultures, and it can be sacred or profane, traditional or innovative, expressing the most archaic folk customs as well as the most speculative and avant garde of the arts. According to Alessandro Falassi, an expert on the festival, it is a special time out of time marked by rites of passage (New Year’s Eve, Bar Mitzvah, Communion and Confirmation), rites of reversal (masquerade balls, Halloween, the Leap Year tradition which allows a woman ask a man for his hand in marriage, April Fool’s Day which allows pranks to be played), rites of conspicuous display (Christmas decorations, Valentine’s Day, Halloween), rites of conspicuous consumption (food and drink that is central to many festivals), rites of deference which confirm status (Mothers’ Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day), and the rite of devalorisation (the return to normal life marked by, for instance, Little Christmas).