Wren Day

Wren Day is an Irish and Manx custom on 26 December, Saint Stephen’s Day. Traditionally, men and boys hunted a wren and placed it on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons, or displayed it in a decorated box on top of a pole. This was paraded around the neighbourhood by a group of ‘Wrenboys’, who are typically dressed in straw masks, greenery and colourful motley clothing, and who sang songs and played music in exchange for donations. On the Isle of Man, the people afterwards held a funeral for the wren and danced around the wren pole. Wren Day has been undergoing a revival since the late 20th century, although it is a stuffed wren instead of a real one.