Culchie Christmas doesn’t exist anymore and has ‘fallen out of fashion’ according to one journalist
In years gone by rural families descended on Dublin every December 8 to do their Christmas shopping.
On Lunchtime Live, Stellar Magazine’s Bronwyn O’Neill said the tradition is no more.
She recalled some of the fond memories of travelling from Monaghan up to what was once Dublin’s busiest shopping day of the year.
“I have very fond memories of it but unfortunately it’s not a thing anymore,” said Ms O’Neill.
“It was Disneyland for eight-year-old me. I wasn’t allowed to go to Toymaster or Smyth’s because Santy was coming really soon.
“But I was allowed to get my Christmas outfit and bath bits from Brown Thomas and Arnott’s and places like that.”
'Amazing day'
Ms O’Neill added it was an “amazing day” that has fallen out of fashion.
“Even by the time I was going into secondary school it had fallen out of fashion,” she said.
“We wouldn’t have been going to Dublin then, there was no point because we had online shopping and we had big shopping centres much closer to us.”
Cork-based writer Maria C Henry said the traditional shopping day has been lost on young people.
“It’s not a big thing anymore; it’s generational and a lot of the older people would have fond memories of it,” she said.
“These days you don’t have to have your shopping done on the same day, we have 24/7 shopping now – it’s not the same anymore.”
Past trips
Ms Henry recalled travelling up to Dublin for the day in years gone by.
“It was a 7.30am start on the bus that would take about four hours because we would have to stop at the end of almost every boreen on the way,” she said.
“It was also a time before European money and roads, it was a very tough trip back in the 70s.”
Ms Henry added that she still enjoys doing something on December 8 in a bit to keep the tradition somewhat alive.
She said she now often meets with family and friends for the day instead.
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Main Image: Crowds shopping under Christmas street lights on Dublin's Grafton Street. 8-12-18. Picture by: Douglas O'Connor / Alamy Stock Photo
