December 8th: the so-called 'Culchie Shopping Day'
Published on 8th December 2021
Christmas in bygone Dublin was associated with Switzer's Window. We're giving away our ages. Of course I came in for an awful slagging being a culchie. I've been up here over thirty years now so there must be some dispensation! I'm an adopted jackeen. I was told I should support Bohs and visit Dallymount Park. (I've never been) Black and red are my colours.
I remember feeling hard done by in my childhood as we never got to make the annual pilgrimage to Dublin on December 8th to see Santa and shop till we dropped. Money was tight in the 80s especially for young families. There was also the petrol shortage and protests about PAYE.
The children in my family were like steps of the stairs, age-wise.
December 8th: the so-called 'Culchie Shopping Day'. The day when people ‘from the country’ came to Dublin to shop. This was crucial to Dublin’s retail calendar, as the traditional shopping day for people from outside the capital to journey to the city. It is also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Santa's grottos, all round the country, would be packed to capacity with parents and smallies.
The boom in online shopping and Black Friday means special December 8th deals are a thing of the past. Photos from our Image Gallery on Flickr