Memories of an Irish Christmas in the 30s

Austin Berry in Athlone 2012

 

The Christmas that people experience in shopping centres and high streets today, would be as alien to the Irish people of the 1930’s, as the worlds they would have seen in movie serials of the time like ‘Flash Gordon’s Trip To Mars’.

In the 1930’s, there was no big shopping centres, and people had to shop in much smaller places.  There was no such thing as shopping for leisure, and Christmas didn’t have the same commercial meaning as it does today.

However there was still a great love of the Christmas tree, the Christmas cards and the man of the moment himself – Santa Claus.  But indeed it was a different world during Christmas in the midlands of the 1930’s, and very unlike the world today.

Athlone town’s ever youthful former Mayor, Austin Berry was born in 1930, and spent his childhood living in the rural Co. Offaly townland of Clonshanny, near Ballycumber.  He remembers those Christmases in the days when there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, and when turkey was only a once a year treat, writes David Flynn.

“Santa only came once a year to us in the 30’s, but nowadays he arrives nearly every month,” he says.  “But you were always in a joyful and happy mood leading up to Christmas, which is interesting to think, because none of the families including ourselves had a lot of money.”

Austin says he remembers the buildup to Christmas in Clonshanny as taking place in late November.  The Berry family would get a little tree from down in the field by cutting the top off a larger tree, and the children decorated the tree with tinsel or paper, because there was no such thing as Christmas lights because there was no electricity.  It was just decorated in its natural form, with no lights of any kind.

Austin said that in his day Santa Claus had a wide chimney to get down, and wouldn’t have had much bother getting up or across the thatched roof of their cottage.

“I don’t know how the poor man manages with some of the chimneys in houses today,” he laughs.  “We usually got sweets and chocolates in the socks that we hung up over the fireplace.  You might get one toy, and in those days it would probably be a spring operated toy.”

Christmas morning mass was a must for the Berry children in Clonshanny, and the young siblings walked the three mile journey to the Island Church, which is still in the townland today.  He said the Christmas atmosphere in rural Ireland of the period was peaceful, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

“A lot of people mightn’t enjoy Christmas today because of demands and pressure over money and presents, but that was never a problem to us, because we never had any money to worry about,” laughed Austin.  “But there was a lot of scrimping and saving coming up to Christmas.” 

In those days there were no cars or rural transport buses, so some of the Berrys’ went with their mother on the donkey and cart, or the pony and trap down to Williams in Ballycumber. William’s was a bar and grocer, like many others of the era, which serviced the rural population between Clara, Ballycumber and Clonshanny.

The shopkeeper was very appreciative of the family’s custom throughout the year, and he used to throw in a small Christmas cake. For the house, the family always bought a very large Christmas candle, and put it in the window.

“There was the hymn singing in the church with the people in mass singing along with the choir,” he says.  “Outside the church the people would go round wishing each other a Happy Christmas and the nice thing about it was nobody was rushing like mad to get away and it was a lovely social occasion.”

The following day was St. Stephen’s Day, which has traditionally been known as the day of hunting the wren.  Children dressed up and went around to neighbours houses to entertain the folk with singing and playing music.  In the morning Austin and his brothers and sisters put bootpolish on their faces, and headed out to sing and make a few pennies.  They usually got a halfpenny at every door.