Wren Day

Common card · No. 373434

Wren Day (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín), or Hunt the Wren Day (Manx: Shelg yn Dreean), or Hunt the Wren (Manx: Shelg yn Dreean), is an Irish and Manx custom on 26 December, Saint Stephen's Day (known in most of Ulster as Boxing Day). Traditionally, men and boys hunted a wren, which was revered as the 'king of the birds'. They displayed it on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons, or in a decorated box on top of a pole. This was paraded around the neighbourhood by a group of 'Wrenboys'—typically dressed in straw masks, greenery and colourful motley clothing—who sang songs and played music in exchange for donations. This was meant to ensure prosperity for the coming year. Afterwards, the wren was buried. On the Isle of Man, they held a funeral for the wren and danced around a 'wren pole'. There were similar New Year traditions in parts of western Britain and France until the nineteenth century. There are several folk tales about the origin of the wren hunt. It is speculated that...

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