Field Guide to Irish Fairies by Bob Curran

Some argue that fairies have a great spite against humans because we can enter heaven and they can't. St Michael, the patron saint of fairies, was said to have interceded with God on their behalf and they were given the dark and remote places of the earth in which to dwell.Ĭhristmas was believed to be the time of the angels, says Curran, when the gates of heaven stood open for the 12 days of Christmas: 'All who died, whether sinner or holy person, were admitted into heaven if they were accompanied by an angel.' These fallen angel/fairies had a dark side: 'If you met them on the road they had the power to take you with them. As Christianity spread through Ireland, they became equated with angels: 'In north Antrim, people began to believe that the fairies were fallen angels, those who sat on the fence during the great rebellion in heaven and who were thrown out for their indecisiveness.'

The fairies are either members of the Tuatha de Danaan or the old pagan gods of the earth, nobody really knows, says Curran. 'It fits in with the Christian myth of our Lord arriving and no room at the inn,' he adds. The idea of the wayfaring fairy is apparently Scandinavian and was brought to Ireland by the Vikings. Christmas is supposed to be the season of love and goodwill, and the fairy comes to test you out,' he explains. So says folklore expert Bob Curran, author of A Field Guide To Irish Fairies: 'The Christmas fairy turns up in the guise of a wayfarer.

Although now very much associated with a presidential welcome to returning emigrants, placing a lighted candle in your window at Christmas is the traditional way of attracting the Christmas fairy to your door.

Field Guide to Irish Fairies by Bob Curran