Connacht people's most treasured Christmas traditions
Fiadh, Daniel and Oisín Kelly, at the Roscommon Christmas Festival. Pic: Gerard O'Loughlin
A new study from An Post has provided insights into Christmas traditions, shopping habits and people’s continued love of sending Christmas cards this year.
In Connacht the study found some interesting details.
It was revealed that 60% of women have Christmas sorted before December 1st while 1 in 10 men are waiting for Christmas Eve. Meanwhile 61% of people from Connacht say brussels sprouts are a must on the dinner plate on Christmas Day.
Christmas cards take pride of place in Irish homes with 54% of people opting to display them on their fireplaces and 23% placing them in their hallways while 24% of Connacht people are doing Secret Santa/Kris Kindle with friends and family.
Only 5% of the nation list a Christmas swim as a family tradition, however Galway leads the Christmas swim at 13% of all adults.
Spending time with loved ones and family ranked as the most important tradition (35%) with Fairytale of New York remaining Ireland’s favourite festive tune.
An Post carried out the study as part of its ‘Send Love’ campaign, which aims to encourage people to take a moment to connect with each other through writing and posting cards to loved ones.
Other interesting findings centre around the Christmas dinner table. 52% of people said that, as per tradition, they would be hosting a sumptuous feast in their own homes. When asked what element of the Christmas meal is an absolute must-have, 73% said roast potatoes and 70% replied stuffing, with 67% opting for turkey and 65% of people gagging for gravy. When it came to the great brussels sprouts debate, 24% of people from Connacht say sprouts are a must.
Christmas pyjamas are also proving a must - the research also reveals 41% of women hope to wind down over the festive break by buying and wearing new sleepwear.
Findings around plans for Santa’s visit were also uncovered - 58% of people plan on leaving a glass of milk out for the man in red, whilst 56% say they will provide carrots for his hard-working reindeers. 48% stated they will also include some biscuits (and splash out on the good ones!) with 31% maintaining mince pies are the order of the day.
The 2025 research also reveals many people remain torn between Christmas tree toppers. Interestingly, 56% of people’s festive ferns are topped by a star this year with 45% of people aged 65+ opting to grace branches with an angel.
