2.  Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in the western Europe, occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and the largest city is Dublin, whose metropolitan area has around a quarter of the country's 4.6 million inhabitants. The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland (a member of the United Kingdom) and it has been an independent Republic since 1922. Stonehenge

3. Christmas in Ireland is the largest celebration of the year, although 8th December is traditionally seen as the start of Christmas with many people putting up their decorations and Christmas trees, along with doing their Christmas shopping. Irish Christmas traditions are similar to those in most western countries.

4.  The greeting for "Happy Christmas" in Irish is Nollaig Shona Dui or Nollaig Shona Daoibh, the literal translation of this is "Happy Christmas to you". If "Nollaig, Shona, Duit/Daoibh" was literally translated, word for word, into English, it would be "Christmas, happy, to you". The British English expression "Happy Christmas" is more common in Ireland than its American English equivalent of "Merry Christmas."

5.  The traditional Christmas dinner consists of turkey or goose and ham with a selection of vegetables and roast potatoes. They also have a round cake full of caraway seeds. Desserts are very rich with a selection of Christmas pudding (sometimes served with brandy, being set alight and poured over it), Christmas cake, yule log and mince pies with equally rich sauces such as brandy butter.  On Christmas Eve, fish is traditionally eaten as a form of “fasting” before Christmas.

6. Christmas tree Christmas candle and mistletoe Crib

7.  Work done by:  Afonso David, nº1  Daniel Batista, nº7 8ºA  Diana Carvalho, nº 8