Dear friends of Beara, It's Saint Stephen's Day. Time to go out, find a little bird, and beat it to death with sticks. Then carry it around asking people to donate money for the funeral. [Copied from Wistorical, by Turtle Bunbury] THE SONG OF THE WREN ?The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, St. Stephen's day was caught in the furze?. For most people in Ireland, the day after Christmas is St. Stephen?s Day, named for the ill-fated deacon of Jerusalem who was stoned to death a year or so after the crucifixion of Christ. For those of a British persuasion, the 26th December is Boxing Day, named for an old English tradition of gifting presents to one?s staff and servants known as a "Christmas box". But for many who live in old world Ireland, it is ?Wren Day?, so named for the ancient tradition where young boys clad in masks and straw suits would set off on a musical march through the parishes, collecting money for charity, ideally with a luckless wren bird pinned to the Wren leader?s musical pole. So if the weather looks ripe, why not gather together a posse of likely youngsters and set off on the rounds. Or you could just listen to this recording of ?The Wran Song? by an iconic union of The Clancy Brothers and The Furey Brothers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX7icoFY0U0 -- Bill

Thank you, Bill for forwarding that link - we like the song. And, after "The Wren, the wren" my husband and I, driving from MA to ME listened to all the other Clancey Brothers songs that seemed to be linked! A great way to pas the time in the car. Sue