I was hoping you'd write something, Maggie! Tipsy cake I do know, very similar to trifle. I still make trifles, with lots of sherry or sometimes an orange liqueur like Cointreau or Drambuie. My mother always used sherry. That Irish breakfast sounds enough to fill me up for the rest of the day. Black pudding I know, but white pudding? Pork? My goodness- fried bread?? (How I loved that as a child - do you sprinkle sugar on it?). > Everyone just wandered in + out of each others home, if there was a knock on the door, it was either the priest or a Garda + then you would hear the shout from inside, "Theres no sinners here". Sounds lovely. Didn't they get invited in for a tipple? Pat L you bring back a lot of memories too. 6.30 am would have been a bit late in our household! My brother and I woke up to find pillowcases stuffed with gifts at the ends of our beds. One other special aspect of my family's Australian christmasses, the house was always filled with red Christmas bush (a native Aussie tree) and blue hydrangeas, and sometimes red and yellow Christmas bells as well. We had the hydrangeas growing around the house, and the christmas bush was available at every shop - still is, probably. That is one thing I do miss here in NZ. I've just found a website on 'Christmas Cultures' <www.whychristmas.com/cultures/> It mentions Boxing Day being important in Ireland. It is also very important in Sydney, Aust. as the day of the start of the annual Sydney-Hobart Yacht race. Sydney has a wonderful harbour and on Boxing Day the whole harbour foreshore is lined with people and the harbour chock-a-block with boats of every description. We do seem to have got a bit astray from genealogy. Hope it's allowed at this time, Cara? Best wishes to everyone. Nancy in NZ