Fallon's Town Talk: Roscommon Town looks resplendent after the turning on of the Christmas lights

Christmas officially began in Roscommon last Sunday with the turning on of the Christmas lights. The major talking-point, apart from Santa taking out time for his frantic schedule to make his annual pre-Christmas visit to Roscommon, is the majestic 11-metre high Christmas tree which has eco-friendly LED lights. As is their wont, the Christmas Lights Committee has excelled itself again and the town is looking resplendent.

The ceremony to turn on the Christmas lights is one of the most enjoyable and uplifting events of the year in Roscommon Town. The centrepiece of Christmas isn’t forgotten either as the Square also possesses one of the most impressive outdoor cribs to be seen anywhere in Connacht and probably the country.

The feel-good vibe will continue with the Roscommon Christmas Festival. The turning on of the lights also prompted thoughts of how the date for the traditional start of Christmas has changed over the decades. Right into the 1990s, the kick-off of the festive season was December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was the day when the schools were closed and people headed to Dublin and other major cities and towns to do much of their Christmas shopping. The Gay Byrne Radio Show would often be on hand to cover the cultural and commercial banter. It was all a bit contrived but was entertaining.

The end of the Gay Byrne Show in 1998 coincided with a changing culture. By the beginning of the new century, the early days of December had become the start of Christmas, although many people around Roscommon still wait until December 8th to put up the tree and the decorations.

Veering off on a slight tangent, the tradition of households leaving up the Christmas decorations until January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany and the end of the 12 days of Christmas, has remained strong, although far more people take down the tree by New Year’s Day than was the case 20 years ago.

Over the last 15 years, the date of Late Late Toy Show, the popularity of Christmas FM and the arrival of Black Friday (the traditional bumper US shopping day after Thanksgiving) into Irish life have become the signals for the festivities to get into full swing.

In the last decade, the beginning of Christmas has veered much closer to early November as Ireland becomes more like the US and the UK. In 2014 we visited the picturesque town of Conwy in Wales. Among the attractions was an all-year round Christmas shop; that phenomenon has become more prevalent in Ireland in the intervening decade. A couple of Christmas channels on Sky have been showing round-the-clock festive movies since the summer.

This year it feels like Christmas advertising on television hit full tilt as soon as Halloween was over. The Black Friday juggernaut now seems to get into gear in early November.

The two most famous Christmas ads in Ireland are, arguably, the Guinness ad on television and the Barry’s Tea ad on radio (“Santa will bring them what they want. This is from me.”). For many years Guinness held off broadcasting their iconic advert until December 1st, but this year it popped up in early November. It didn’t feel right, like the end of All-Ireland finals being played in September.

Nevertheless, the whole point of traditions is that they evolve over time. To see Roscommon lit up so dazzlingly on a dark November night is a joyful sight. It also provided a beacon of light following a week when global politics has been cast into shadow and gloom.

It was dispiriting to watch the mercurial US president Donald Trump swing back towards supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Using Thanksgiving as a deadline, the US has warned Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his people to accept the White House plan or else lose US support, which has been, at best, lukewarm since Trump returned to power.

At time of writing, and as happened earlier in the year, the US’s historical allies are scrambling to placate Trump who acts like a cross between a bully and a spoiled child. How often can the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ repeat this wearisome chore, especially as Trump no longer bothers to hide his disdain for Ukraine and his boredom with Europe? It must be exhausting and demoralising.

As autocrats preach the message that ‘might is right’, the community spirit at the heart of the Christmas festivities of Roscommon offers a joyous contrast.