Before fireworks and family-friendly music nights, New Year’s Eve meant a big meal, setting places for loved ones we’d lost during the year, and a trip to the bonfire on the pier, writes MARIA C HENRY
AS a child of the 1970s, New Year’s Eve was another wonderful day spent in front of the roaring fire in the sitting room, keeping toasty warm, with my new toys, or playing games with my siblings and visiting cousins.
For my mam, the event brought with it mostly a day following traditions that were passed down from generation to generation. In times past, people were very superstitious and adhered to ancient unwritten mythical codes.
Some of these rituals have spanned centuries and are steeped in legend.
My mam wanted her home spick and span to welcome the new year to our house. She would always buy a new sweeping brush from Harrington’s Hardware in Castletownbere that would get its first airing on New Year’s Eve. She believed that a new broom would brush away the old luck and would bring in a fresh start.
Of course, she roped her unwilling darlings into the drudgery of her housework by making us clean the windows and sweep the garden with the relegated brush.
With the promise of a few chocolates from the box of Dairy Milk, we jumped into action. In the 1970s when treats were rare even at Christmas it was an easy bribe that never failed to work.
As the eldest, my mam would send me to the shops to get the messages. Somehow, the mountain of food that was bought in the previous weeks for Christmas had disappeared.
There was always a buzz in Castletownbere on the last day of the year as folk were bustling around preparing their homes to receive the new year. Country folk would flock to the town early to restock their pantries, knowing the shops would close early and not open again for a few days.
McCarthy’s store and bar would be hopping by lunchtime, as people had ‘a few scoops’ while they did their shopping. Often there would be a sing-song and it wouldn’t even be lunchtime.
Another common tradition in Beara was to place coal around the house. My mam would ensure every bucket beside the fires were full that evening. According to her, having coal in the house was a sign that the New Year would be prosperous, and filled with wealth and abundance.
Another tradition I remember from my nana Mary on Bere island was bread being pounded against the door of the house three times while she said a prayer. This, she said, would chase the bad luck out of the house and invite the good spirits in. She also did the same at the cowshed to ensure plenty of fodder for the cows.
In our house, we ate our main meal in the evening, which was known as Oíche na Coda Móire or ‘the night of the big portion’. We consumed a slightly bigger than normal portion of food. Folks believed if we ate in abundance, it would ensure there would be plenty to eat in the year ahead.
The most observed of all the New Year’s traditions was setting a place at the dinner table for those lost the year before. It was all about remembering those no longer with us.
In addition, it was a time when I was aware of older folks talking about leaving the door on the latch to welcome ancestors. I always found this spooky, and it wasn’t as if we ever locked the doors to the house!
On New Year’s Eve night, RTÉ was geared towards the midnight countdown, so my mam sent me and my siblings to bed shortly after nine. We would try to stay awake, but somehow, we would have to be woken before twelve. There was something exciting about being called out of bed before midnight, getting dressed, and wrapping up in winter warm outside clothes.
The bells from The Church of the Sacred Heart were ringing out to the community as me and my family left through the back door of our house. Soon my family and neighbours that were leaving their houses at the same time met on the street and we marched like lines of ants to the bonfire on the pier.
The biggest evacuation was at the Beara Bay Hotel dancehall, where revellers left to join their community despite the best of the showbands provided entertainment they paid for. As everyone headed in the same direction, there was the sense of an event.
The only thing my mam didn’t account for was the fact that when you’re seven years old, staying awake well past midnight was a challenge.
Even though I was exhausted, it didn’t stop me meeting with my friends Annette, Edel, Mairead, Georgina and Gillian who looked as tired as I was, but we chatted nonstop about the gifts we received from Santy, treats we consumed and what we’d watched on TV.
By the time we arrived at the epicentre, the fire had been lit and was in full flame. The town folk had been gathering pallets and wood of all kinds in the previous few days and an enormous pile had amassed. It was thrilling to stand around that blazing fire with the smoke emanating into the bitter and chilly night.
As soon as the countdown began, everyone joined in. It was a special feeling to be part of a joint effort. When the clock struck 12, the crowd would grab the hand of the person beside them and sing Auld Lang Syne.
After an exchange of hugs and kisses, everyone filed home again – all over in twenty minutes. When we got home, we all clambered into the house through the front door. Then mam would make us go out the back door and enter the house again through the front door. This was to bring good luck and prosperity.
After a cup of hot chocolate, it was back to bed to dream of the big movie on the TV later that day and the games I would play. New Year’s resolutions would have to wait until I had some sleep.
It would appear a lot of the traditions I grew up with have died out over the decades. Families have made new traditions that don’t involve the stuff of legends or superstition.
However, what does remain is the start of a new year is always so full of promise. These days shops are full of treats, from the essential gourmet party food to bottles of bubbly. Adverts on TV are telling us what must-haves we need to have a wonderful evening. Hotels are doing packages for the palate and entertainment.
The big cities offer massive music events with pyrotechnics and light shows. But in our paradise of West Cork most towns will have an organised event that might be earlier than midnight, so smallies can attend and are family-orientated. Bonfires have been replaced with fireworks displays and music.
Organisers and volunteers aren’t praised enough for the sterling work they do to bring joy to the masses on this most special night of the year.