Multicultural Festival -- Ireland
The Multicultural Festival is a three day celebration, which kicks off the month of March in which the students will be educated about different countries, by showing cultural differences, and how we are the same. Ireland is one of the four countries featured in this year's festival.
Greetings
Click here for greetings
Games and Activities of Ireland
Soccer
Manners and Customs in Ireland
1. While our customs/manners are very close to the US there are a few differences:
1. Don’t show up on-time to someone’s house for a party or dinner party: This would seem rude – it is expected that guests will arrive at least 15 minutes late. In general, punctuality is far less rigid than in the US especially when it comes to visiting people’s homes. It is assumed the host needs time to get ready.
2. Always ask about a person's family/personal life before conducting business: We are very social people and with it comes the need to talk (a lot). All meetings start with general conversation about people's personal lives. Home and family intermingle with business life all the time.
3. It’s ok, and expected, to talk about religion and politics even with strangers: At all social gatherings you will hear passionate conversation on these and many other topics. To disagree is not deemed insulting at all. In fact there is a greater respect for the person who can put together a good argument than there is for the actual point of view.
4. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday and you eat pancakes that day: Dinner on Shrove Tuesday, or what is often called pancake Tuesday, is pancakes filled with savory and sweet things.
5. Most homes will have a small holy water font at the front door for guests and family to use as they leave. Many would also have a sacred heart picture hanging prominently in the kitchen.
6. The day after Christmas day is called St. Stephens Day: This is usually a day of heavy socializing with extended family and friends. Families literally go on tour from house to house visiting everyone they know. Most families will have an open house that day and welcome anyone to drop in at any time.
7. At weddings, the priest is invited to the reception and often sits at the head table with the wedding party.
8. Much socializing happens in the pub. It is expected of you to buy a round for the entire group you are with. Each person should take a fair turn to buy the round. The pub is the centre of the community (after the church of course!!) Evenings at the small town pub are a family affair where children and adults all bring their particular instruments (fiddle; accordion; guitar; flute; bagpipes; etc.) and everyone joins in playing in an evening-long “jam session.”
9. It is rude to turn down hospitality: If you are asked if you want a cup of tea or something to eat, you are better off accepting as you will be pestered until you do accept something. Your hosts will assume you don’t want to bother them rather than that you are simply not hungry.
10. The biggest party you will have growing up is your 21st: This is a huge event when you are deemed an adult. Despite the fact that you can drink and drive at 18, 21 is the biggest party.
Three Focus Points for Ireland:
- The Great Famine-a calamitous period of starvation, disease and mass emigration between 1845 and 1852 during which the population of Ireland was reduced by 20 to 25 percent due to the potato blight.
- Famous Irish Authors/Poets: Jonathan Swift, George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, and James Joyce
- St. Patrick-St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century.
