December 26, St. Stephens Day, or for some ‘Boxing Day,’ is one of those strange pre-Christian Irish holidays still celebrated in some parts of Ireland ----- Wren Day. The tradition requires the capture of a wren (a type of bird) and the fixing it on top of a decorated pole. Crowds of strawboys celebrate the wren (‘druid bird' in ancient Irish’) by dressing up in masks, straw suits and colourful clothing, and accompanied by traditional bands, they parade through the towns and villages. The ‘purpose’ is lost. Some argue that the wren betrayed St Stephen, and in another version the wren betrayed Irish troops by revealing their location to Cromwell’s army.
But clearly the practice is much older and comes from Celtic mythology. Cliona, a woman of the otherworld, seduced young men to follow her to the seashore where she drowned them in the ocean. Eventually a charm was discovered that could bring about her destruction. Her only method of escape was to turn herself into a wren. As a punishment for her crimes she was forced to take the shape of the little bird on every succeeding Christmas Day and fated to die by human hand. Hence the seemingly barbarous practice of hunting the wren. (artificial ones are used today). The tradition was once practiced on the Isle of Mann, in Wales, and in parts of Spain.
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