Traditions
www.santas.net
"Ireland's Christmas is more religious than a time of fun Irish women bake a seed cake for each person in the house. They also make three puddings, one for Christmas, New Year's Day and the Twelfth Night." Recognise this portrait of an Irish Christmas? This website has accounts of Christmas traditions from around the world. But, judging by the Irish section, it may not be the most reliable source of information.
Shopping
http://store.yahoo.com/irishop
This US-based site offers a range of Irish goods for Christmas net shoppers. Goods range from posters and books to licence plates, crystal and linen. For those with a large budget, the bogwood sculptures, from the Celtic Roots Studio, near Athlone, Co Westmeath, look impressive. The bog wood is more ancient than the Pyramids and the prehistoric monuments of Newgrange, according to the blurb.
Religion
http://members.tripod.com/~pg4anna/xmas.htm
This site interprets "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as a "catechism song", to help young Catholics learn about their faith. A partridge in a pear tree signifies Jesus, the two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments, the three French hens are faith, hope and charity, while the four calling birds are the four gospels and/or the four evangelists. An interesting interpretation.
Vegetarians
http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/AZ/TofuTurkey.asp
Tofu turkey is offered, on this website, as a "vegan alternative especially good for Thanksgiving dinner". Vegetarians may be interested in using this recipe for Christmas dinner. Serving 10, it will need to be seriously scaled down, as most Irish families boast one or two vegetarians at most, and it's doubtful whether leftover tofu turkey makes good sandwich filling.
Trivia
www.howstuffworks.com
In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880, Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments. Martin Luther is credited with being the first person to put candles on a tree and the first electrically lit Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Packed with trivia and historical detail, this is a fun site to explore.
