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"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."
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 Christmas Crackers No Christmas dinner in Ireland would be complete without the fun of finding a Christmas Cracker by your plate. And, no, it's not something you eat! These crackers are tubes covered with brightly coloured foil. Each tube is usually filled with a paper hat, a silly toy, a joke and a strip of paper which will make a pop when the cracker is pulled. Each end of the tube is twisted so the treats inside won't fall out. The fun begins when each cracker is pulled by two people and the cracker splits. In many homes, the crackers are pulled before dinner begins so that families can wear the funny paper hats throughout the meal. In other homes, the crackers are pulled after dinner. No matter when they're pulled, crackers always make the Christmas feast more fun.
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| All contents copyright © 2001,2002,2003 2004,2005,2006 all rights reserved. Oct 18 2006, 07:08:43 |
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What caused the Giants Causeway? Scientists say that millions of years ago, there were huge volcanic eruptions and after they were over, thousands of strange-looking columns appeared on the coast of Co. Antrim. Is that really what happened? The Seanchai*, or Irish story-teller, has a far different tale to tell.
It's said that the Causeway was built by a gentle giant, Fionn MacCumhain, or Finn McCool. Even legend, though, has its contrasting accounts. In one tale, Finn was said to be in love with a lady giant who lived on the Scottish island of Staffa, and that he built the Causeway in order to safely bring her home to Ireland. In fact, there's a similar though smaller collection of the strange columns on Staffa's coastline, and geographically, Ireland and Scotland were once much closer than they are today.
The other legend says that Finn built the Causeway due to an ongoing argument with a Scottish giant named Benandonner who could not swim. In an argument one day, while they were shouting at each other over the Sea of Moyle, Finn took a clump of earth and flung it at his enemy. The land fell in the sea and became the 
Isle of Man, while the huge hole left in Ireland became Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles.
Oonagh was Finn’s wife. When she heard the sound of thunderous footsteps, she knew it was Brenandonner come to fight Finn. Oonagh took one look at the gigantic visitor on her doorstep and realised this was a battle Finn could never win. She threw a blanket over her sleeping husband and stuck a bonnet on his head. There was no possible way Finn could defeat Benandonner for he was too small.
The other story says that Benandonner had arranged to fight Finn but when he got to Finn's house , Finn's wife said he had been delayed. To pass the time, the Scottish giant decided to play with the baby (who was actually Finn in disguise). Finn promptly bit off Bennandonner's magic middle finger. Finn knew that this would cause caused the Scottish giant to lose his strength. Brenandonner roared in pain and when he saw that his magic middle ginger was gone he ran back to Scotland, howling, never to be seen in Antrim again.
