Mooney.] 4 A± [May 3, 



those who ar ■without money wil bind tliemselvs to do a certain amount 

 of work in return for such an animal. Wliile tliis eagerness is due in great 

 part to tlie natural desire to hav a good dinner on Christmas at least, it 

 may point also to sacrificial rites in connection with the old druidic cele- 

 bration of the winter festival. 



Every family that can possibly do so procures a large log known as the 

 bloc na Nodlog [blucna Nullog) or "Christmas block," to burn in the hearth- 

 fire upon this day. The log is usually from the trunk of the resinous 

 bog deal, now found only below the surface of the bogs. It is procured 

 some time in advance, so as to be thoroughly dry for the occasion, and is 

 sometimes kept burning at intervals until Twelfth-night. As previously 

 stated, this custom, with that of the Christmas candle, is found also in 

 other countries, and is evidently a survival of an ancient fire celebration. 



The Christmas candle, which is usually kept lighted at intervals from 

 Christmas to Twelfth-night, varies considerably in the different districts. 

 In Connemara it is calld truisldii (thrushlawn) and is made of twelv 

 rushes plaited together and wrapt around with thread to prevent their 

 untwisting in burning, the whole being dipt in melted tallow so as to 

 form a large candle a yard or more in length. This is fixt upright on the 

 table at supper on Christmas night (eve ?) and allowd to burn for about 

 an hour, when it is extinguisht, to be relighted in the same way on New 

 Year's night and Twelfth-night. What remains is then put carefully 

 away and preservd as a talisman to bring good luck to the house. 



In many parts of the country the Christmas candles ar now supplied by 

 the stores. They ar made of large size and variously colord, and in Kerry 

 ar lighted on Christmas night and each night thereafter until Twelfth- 

 night, inclusiv. On Twelfth-night they hav what is known as the coin- 

 neal tri lad'rac (cunyoel chre liarakh) or " three-prongd candle," made 

 by dividing the wick of an ordinary candle into three parts, which ar then 

 dipt into melted tallow, so as to form three smaller candles above the 

 large one. These ar all lighted simultaneously and gradually burn down 

 to the main one, which continues to burn until extinguisht. A similar 

 candle is described in Hall's "Ireland " as being burnd in Cork on Christ- 

 mas eve until midnight, after which what remains is preservd as a safe- 

 guard against evil spirits.* It was probably originally used in the south, 

 as in Connemara, during the whole period of the Christmas holidays. 



On Twelfth-night, in Eoscommon and the adjacent parts of Galway, 

 rushes ar cut into pieces about six inches in length, which ar peeld from 

 top to bottom, leaving only a thin strip of skin to prevent their breaking. 

 These ar then dipt into melted lard or tallow and arranged in a circle 

 around the edge of a cake of cow-dung, after which each member of the 

 family selects one to represent himself. They ar then lighted, and it is 

 believd that the lives of those present wil be long in proportion to the 

 time occupied by the rushes in burning, he whose light goes out first be- 



* Hall, Ireland, i, 25. 



