Advent: a quiet time of waiting that slows life down

Advent in Ireland: a calm season of waiting

In Ireland, Advent is more than a line in the church calendar. It is a clear period in the year when towns and villages slowly light up and communities draw a little closer together.

Traditionally, the Irish Christmas season often runs from early December until Epiphany on 6 January. During these weeks you will usually see: 

• Advent wreaths lit in churches and in some homes
• special Masses and carol services
• children opening Advent calendar doors every day
• many collections and charity events for homeless people, families in difficulty and food banks

For a long time Ireland was strongly shaped by Catholic practice, so Advent carried a clear spiritual meaning: preparation for Christmas through prayer, reflection and reconciliation, not just shopping. Today the picture is more mixed. Some people are active in parish life, others experience Advent mainly as a time of cosy evenings, community and a slightly slower pace at the darkest point of the year.

But the basic feeling is similar: people do not want only stress and noise until 24 December. They also want a few ordinary, quiet moments that feel human and real.

Advent in Ireland: customs, community and fish on the table

Wreaths, candles and the rhythm of Advent

In many parishes in Ireland, the Advent wreath first appears at the front of the church. Four candles, four Sundays, one more lit each week. Some families have a smaller wreath at home, but the main symbol is the one people see together at Mass.

Children often receive simple Advent calendars or “good deed” charts. Each day can bring a short prayer, a suggestion for a kind act, or a small task to help someone else. In this way, the idea of Advent as “waiting and preparing” moves out of the liturgy and into daily life.

Charity and care for others

The social side of Advent is very visible in Ireland. Parishes, schools, sports clubs and local groups organise, for example:

• food drives and collections for food banks
• support for homeless shelters
• gift projects for children in low-income families
• fundraising for local charities and community groups

These are usually not huge national campaigns, but many small, concrete actions. Taken together, they make Advent a time when people look beyond their own table and think about who around them might need help.

Christmas Eve fish and the old fasting tradition

Like many Catholic countries, Ireland had a clear rule in the past: Christmas Eve was a day of fasting and abstinence. That meant simpler food, no meat, and usually fish before the festive meat dishes of Christmas Day.

In different parts of Ireland older people still remember things like:

• salted or dried white fish (often cod), served with potatoes and a basic white sauce
• light fish dishes on Christmas Eve, followed by turkey, ham and rich food on Christmas Day

Today, many families still choose fish on Christmas Eve, although the recipes have changed. Fish pies, seafood chowder, fish stews and smoked salmon are common. The logic is straightforward: if the next days will be heavy, it makes sense for at least one evening to be lighter.

Where sardines fit into the Irish Advent table

Traditional Irish Christmas food usually centres on turkey, ham, roasted meats, puddings, cakes and, for fish, mainly smoked salmon or white fish. Sardines are not part of old Irish Christmas folklore. But in modern Advent life they can make a lot of sense.

A few simple reasons:

• Irish supermarkets are full of different canned fish and seafood
• many Advent evenings begin with a long working day and end with the wish for something warm, quick and not too heavy
• people who want to eat less meat and more fish need options that are easy and affordable

In this context, canned sardines are a practical tool, not a fashion. They can appear in an Irish Advent kitchen, for example:

• on toasted soda bread or brown bread with butter, lemon and a little onion or chives
• in a warm potato salad or simple stew as a modern version of “fish and potatoes”
• on a small sharing board with Irish cheeses, pickled vegetables and other fish products

There is no need to pretend sardines are a traditional Irish Christmas symbol. What matters is that they support Advent’s original logic: simpler food, less meat, more fish, more nutrients, and very little effort.

The Advent kitchen in Ireland today: warm but not always heavy

In practice, the Irish Advent kitchen often balances two forces:

• tradition, which points towards rich roasts, puddings, cakes and long family meals
• everyday life, which reminds people that they are still working, commuting and coming home tired in the dark

Sardines can quietly solve part of that tension:

• they keep a link to the fish tradition without demanding hours in the kitchen
• they work for a single person, a couple, a family or a small Advent gathering
• they are flexible: from a fast evening snack to a warm dish with potatoes and winter vegetables

In short, the older Irish habit of choosing fish before the heavy meat feast meets a modern reality where canned sardines offer a simple bridge between “I want to keep the idea” and “I do not have time for complicated recipes”.

What Advent in Ireland can show us

From the outside, Advent in Ireland can look very tidy: wreaths and candles, calendars, charity collections, fish on Christmas Eve, generous Christmas dinners. From the inside, it is like everywhere else: people are busy, tired and often pulled in too many directions.

 

The interesting thing about the Irish way of living Advent is that it clearly goes beyond “pretty decorations”.

• candles and wreaths are not just props, they set a rhythm
• community care is not an extra, it is part of the season
• the kitchen follows a simple, sensible line: before the big meat feast, a lighter evening with fish. 

Sardines are not the main story here. They are just one small, rational detail. They make it easier to live out the idea of “more fish, less meat, a bit more balance” without turning every meal into a project.

From the Irish Advent you can take a few clear insights:

• waiting is not only about a single date, it is about how you live the time before it
• small daily practices - a candle, a calendar door, a quiet conversation, a simpler plate of food – often matter more than one “perfect” celebration
• choosing lighter fish instead of meat is not a loss, it is a decision that respects tradition and gives your body and mind some relief

Move that mix of candle, community and fish into any other country and the essence stays the same. 

Advent is a time to slow down a little, check what really matters, and make choices - including on your plate - that bring you closer to that, not further away. In that sense, sardines can be a surprisingly useful ally.