Hi all Personally I have no known Irish ancestry to date except branches that married Irish girls (which is what prompted me to join this list in the first place) There are supposed to be OVINGTONs in Ireland in the 1400's but I have a little way to go to get back there :-) My wifes side have a much stronger Irish connection in her great grandmother, Alice REID who was born in Navan County Meath 1874 Although I was born in Leicestershire I can relate to the majority of Maggies post except the black/white pudding as I can't abide it and never could :-( Being the youngest of ten children in a Catholic family I suspect my Christmas's were very similar to an Irish one anyway Having some Irish friends some years back I am well aware of potcheen and its powers <g> (It was very useful if you had some left over as it made a good paint stripper <vbg>) As I posted earlier, there was a long lead up to Christmas which was very much a part of it for me The light in the window also figured in our homes On Christmas customs, we would go to midnight mass when old enough, I think about ten or eleven, it was a right of passage of sorts, you certainly felt grown up when allowed to go Afterwards we were allowed to open one present each, just a small one In the morning it was a full English breakfast <vbg> (without the dreadful black pudding, yuk) those who had not been to mass would have to forego the breakfast of course Much action in the kitchen whilst the children played with their new toys Travel was all but forbidden on Christmas day, that was for Boxing day , we have continued that whilst we have had children Christmas dinner was a huge event, there was usually a fair number of both adults and children, much turkey and all the trimmings, plenty of pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, brussels etc Crackers were pulled and silly jokes exchanged, followed by the flaming Christmas pudding , rum butter and brandy sauce not forgetting the silver threepenny bits buried in the pud If you survived all that it was the washing up and plenty of it :-( Board games were the order of the day after the clearing up Boxing day was the time for visiting those within reach, cold meats, pickles and a good array of cheeses with a drop of port were the usual Boxing day fare , somewhere in there was a sherry trifle with plenty of cream Despite my father being a Glaswegian we did not celebrate New Years Eve , still don't if it comes to that All the decorations had to be down by twelfth night and packed away for next year And so the wheel went round Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) PS on the silver threepenny bits in the Christmas pudding, I still have two in my wallet which my mother in law went to great lengths to make sure I got one year, bless her, sadly also gone and much missed