The top ten Irish Christmas traditions that make the season - PHOTOS

I love it and am so glad to be a part of it now. Many trips to Ireland with my brother and all four grandparents are from Ireland. It is home.

My Irish Family tradition was shooting the ornaments off the tree with my brothers Daisy Targeteer BB gun!

Joyce's 'The Dead' is a masterpiece, and I never get tired of watching the film version with such greats as Donal Donnelly, Frank Patterson, Angelica Huston, Donal McCann, Ed Herlihy, and so many other Irish character actors. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

I'm surprised that open houses and visiting the neighbors to help trim the tree are not mentioned. Perhaps these were customs only in Irish-American (recent immigrant families) in the USA. Another custom was visiting from house to house after Midnight Mass all night long, with the kids up and put to bed late so they would sleep late in the morning, already having seen their presents. Every house served breakfast, with soda bread and sausages as well as eggs featured. Many families also gave only one or two presents on Christmas Day and presents on random days until Little Christmas, when the tree came down. As a result I would always send presents to the young nieces and nephews after Christmas but before Jan 6. In at least some parts of rural Ireland on St. Stephan's Day you were obliged to invite anyone in and feed them the best you had in the house. The tinkers loved this custom. And there were always sing-alongs and instrumental pieces in the kitchen (fiddles and accordians and guitars) or around the piano in the living room.

two more: have a few drinks and a good cry while listening to Fairytale of New York, greatest Xmas song ever attend the annual Anuna Xmas concert in Dublin