Mooney.J i»-*0 [May 3, 



neighboring families sometimes arrange to hav a man from each house 

 visit the other the tirst thing in the morning, and one man was said to get 

 over the difficulty by making it a point to get up himself before daybreak 

 and go through the door and back again. A similar belief exists in Eng- 

 land. 



In Galway and probably in other parts of the country, it is customary 

 on New Year eve to put a stick into a stream or pool with a notch cut to 

 indicate the liight of the water. If the water be above the mark in the 

 morning — i. e., should any rain fall during the night — provisions wil be 

 high during the coming year. If the water be found to be below the notch, 

 provisions wil be correspondingly low. As the Gaelic proverb has it, Mci 

 tirifj'eann an tuile, liriij'eann an huiseul, 'smd isUg'eann an tuile, tuituig'- 

 eann an buiseul,* "If the flood rises the bushel rises, and if the flood 

 lowers the bushel falls." The same custom is practiced in Germany to 

 determin whether the year wil be wet or dry. 



Twelfth-night, January 6, is so calld on account of its being the twefth 

 night after Christmas. It is also known as Little Christmas or Old Christ- 

 mas, by reason of its being the dale formerly fixt for Christmas before the 

 adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1753. Stil another name, used more 

 especially in the south, is " Night of the Three Kings," as it is believd to 

 hav been on this night that the magi from the East visited the infant 

 Savior. In commemoration of this event the triple candle is lighted in 

 Kerry, as already described, and it was formerly the custom also to bake 

 a threecornerd loaf or cake of bread on this day for the same reason, 

 just as it is. customary in England to bake a pie in the shape of a cradle 

 and acake in form like an infant on Christmas day. 



On this night the cattle all kneel down and worship with their faces 

 toward the east. In Kerry, it is said to hav been on Twelfth-night that 

 Christ turnd water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana, and at a certain 

 hour on this night every running stream is changed into wine. But no 

 one must venture. out to watch for the miracle, for two girls once went out 

 to see the wonder and wer never heard of afterward. In Connemara, tlie 

 cliaiige is believd to take place on New Year eve, and it is customary to 

 begin the day by drinking a glass of water in honor of the event. In 

 England, a similar miracle is said to occur on Saint Martin's night, 

 November 11, the anniversary of the ancient feast of Bacchus, god of wine, 

 a fact which is probably at the bottom of the modern belief. 



The mummers go about with their songs and dances from Christmas 

 until Twelfth-night, when the holidays come to an end. The national 

 game oicamdn, or hurling, also holds a prominent place in the holiday sports 

 in all parts of the country. The whole period is deemd sacred and no 

 work that can possibly be postponed is done while it lasts. Each of the 

 tvvelv days during this period is held to foreshadow the weather for the 



* Pronounced: Maw ireean an thuilya, ireean an bAshael, smaw eesMcean an thuilija, 

 tidcheean an Mishad. 



