Find Part One Here Today we’re going to explore The National Museum of Ireland. Ireland has been collecting her historical artifacts for centuries. The National Museum in Dublin (free to visit) was established in 1877, using collections from several prior institutions. According to the web site, its aim is ‘to increase and diffuse the knowledge…
Author: Cindy Thomson
My One Word for 2022
But first, some thoughts about my word for 2021. If you’re wondering what all this is about here’s a post I wrote about it in 2015. I’ve been choosing a word, instead of a resolution, for several years running. I was first challenged to do this by my writer friend Cara Putman. So my word…
I Heard the Voice
I love hearing new arrangements of old hymns. I love the old ones too. The hymn I’m sharing with you today is “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”, words by Horatius Bonar in 1886. I found several versions of it on YouTube (I’m sharing a few with you here.) I noticed that it’s been called…
Dunluce Castle
One of the most amazing sites on the north coast of Ireland, very near the Giant’s Causeway, is Dunluce Castle. I visited there on a beautiful sunny day. I wrote about the castle in a post for the Irish Fireside. You can read about it here.
When Exactly Do You Count the 12 Days of Christmas?
From Wikipedia: The traditions of the Twelve Days of Christmas have been largely forgotten in the United States, where the public generally tends to equate the Christmas season with the Christmas shopping season and its attendant commercial marketing campaigns. Contributing factors include the popularity of stories by Charles Dickens in nineteenth-century America (with their emphasis on…
Happy Boxing Day
While it’s not really a Celtic celebration, it is observed in some Celtic countries. It has nothing to do with the sport, just in case you were wondering. Boxing Day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada. Boxing Day began, as far as I can tell, in the nineteenth century. It’s an…
The Pipes of Christmas
Bagpipes and a pipe organ. Does anything sound more like Christmas? And then, wait for the drums! Enjoy!
Merry Christmas from Armagh
We visited an empty St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh. I would have loved to have been there for this. Enjoy!
How Christmas Came to the Celts
You may have heard this before: December 25th wasn’t really when Jesus was born. The date was chosen because the church commandeered another pagan festival, this time the winter solstice. But, have you thought about why? The ancient pagans were not evil people, at least not especially evil for the times they lived in. They…
Santa’s Irish Connection
The real Saint Nicholas is generally believed to be a 4th century bishop from Turkey. Legend says that he was wealthy and gave away most all of his fortune. One tale is about a poor father who had no dowery for his three daughters. They were destined to become slaves without a dowery, but for…
