The Wrenboys

3rd January 2015:

Got this from a lifelong friend, the first donation of the year, 770Euro which is a huge amount of money and will make a significant impact on lives in Malawi.
We are so appreciative on behalf of our people. Of course Daithi knows that ALL the money will get to the projects, no deductions or administrative costs
  Wren Day, also known as Wren's Day, Day of the Wren, or Hunt the Wren Day (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín), is celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day. The tradition consists of "hunting" a fake wren and putting it on top a decorated pole. Then the crowds of mummers, or strawboys, celebrate the wren (also pronounced wran) by dressing up in masks, straw suits, and colourful motley clothing. They form music bands and parade through towns and villages. These crowds are sometimes called wren boys
In past times and into the 20th century, an actual bird was hunted by wrenboys on St. Stephen's Day. The captured wren was tied to the wrenboy leader's staff. It would be kept alive, as the popular mummers' parade song states, "A penny or tuppence would do it no harm". The song, of which there are many variations, asked for donations from the townspeople. Often the boys gave a feather from the bird to patrons for good luck. The money was used to host a dance for the town that night. The pole, decorated with ribbons, wreaths and flowers, and the wren, was the centre of the dance. Over time, the live bird was replaced with a fake one that is hidden rather than chased. The band of young boys has expanded to include girls, and adults often join in. The money collected from the townspeople is usually donated to a school or charity. A celebration is still held around the decorated pole.
   
Similar traditions of hunting the wren have been performed on the Isle of Man on Boxing Day and in Pembrokeshire, Wales on Twelfth Day (6 January)[2] and, on the first Sunday of December in parts of Southern France, including Carcassonne. [3] The custom has been revived in Suffolk by Pete Jennings and the Old Glory Molly Dancers and has been performed in the village of Middleton every Boxing Day evening since 1994.[4]