Thank you, Betty. Yes, as we get older I think we are more aware of things that we've always just taken for granted. This summer I was interviewing a 92 yr old lady and in telling about what they did as young people for entertainment she mention "sealy" dancing. I asked for the spelling. There is a town west of Houston called Sealy. Possibly 50 years ago a mattress manufacture was located there by the same name which has now becme quite well known and located elsewhere. But that was how she told me it was spelled, like the mattress. She was not aware of "ceili" dancing. There are many with Scotch-Irish ancestry in Texas, especially in the eastern part. Most have no knowledge of their Irish heritage. Ludie ----- Original Message ----- From: Betty To: Loudene Tollar ; Scotch-Irish-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 8:40 AM Subject: Re: SCOTCH-IRISH CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS - HELP Hi Ludie, From Age 9 to ~14, my KERR grandparents lived in our home with us. I'm sorry I don't remember a whole lot about my childhood, but, for whatever reasons, a few things have always stuck with me ! At Christmastime, we were told that a "dickie bird" would sit outside our window .. and "watch what we were doing" .. and then fly away and go "report to" Santa ! I remembered the story, but didn't really follow through with my children (was too busy / stressed being a single-parent). But, several years ago, once I got my computer, I tried to find out whether there really was a bird, called a "dickie bird." I really didn't find much, but my dictionary says there was a "dickie bird" in Great Britain ! Betty (near Lowell, MA) FYI: "Grampy KERR" was descended from a family-group of KERR's and HENDERSON's who migrated from Sligo, Ireland, to Quebec, Canada, in the 1820's, and then their children (cousins married) came down to Boston in the 1890's. William KERR, who came down first in 1870's, married Elizabeth HANNAH, whose HANNAH / RITCHIE parents had left Glasgow, Scotland, in 1850's to come to MA / USA. She was an infant at the time. "Grammy KERR" was a foundling, originally given the name, Daisy WATROUS. She was adopted in 1892 by a DEXTER / CLARK "older couple." My "hypothesis" is that their married daughter, in Killingly, CT, had an "unwanted pregnancy" and Mr./Mrs. DEXTER moved to Boston, MA, so that "a small-town scandal" could be avoided. Mrs. Clara YOUNG had a 7-year-old son, and remained living in Killingly with her husband. (I do not yet know whether the above surnames are "Scotch / Irish.) Come to think of it, now that I am a grandmother, I find it interesting ... how many names there are for -- grandparents ! Grampy/Grammy, Nana/Papa, Grandmother ____/Grandfather ____, Grandma / Grandpa, etc., not to mention all the names from other countries ! (Vavo, YiaYia, etc.) I decided on "Grandma" and my young grandson decided on "Gabba," instead ! :o) P.S. Our other Christmas traditions seem to be the same as other families we knew and/or were related to ! However, I ran into one problem* when I first got married to my EX .. His "German / English" family from Brooklyn, NY, would "open Santa's gifts" - at midnight (or before bedtime) ! And, my family "always" waited until "Christmas morning" - as Santa "arrived" - while we were sleeping ! (How could Santa get the presents to children in Brooklyn, NY, .. "before 10 pm" or while they were awake?) :o( *There were "many" problems when I first got married; but I waited until after 2 children were born to "kick him out !" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Loudene Tollar" <ludiekt@juno.com> To: <Scotch-Irish-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 2:22 AM Subject: SCOTCH-IRISH CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS - HELP > It's been several years since I've had time to even look at this list. I'm > back now and looking for help. This subject has probably been addressed a > long time ago but if anyone can give me a few Christmas > traditions(briefly) that are know to have been celebrated by the > Scotch-Irish I'd sure appreciate it. I'm working up a program for our > genealogy society here in Trinity County, Texas for December and hope to > include some traditions that may have been passed down through the > generations. Thanks, Ludie > ______________________________