'These festive stories need to be told and retold'

A book that teaches young children about Manx Christmas traditions through the story of a wren has been released.

In Little Wren, Manx Christmas, author and illustrator Felicity Wood walks young readers through the two-week period of festive celebrations on the Isle of Man along with the traditions that would usually punctuate each day.

The book reveals Manx traditions through the tale of a wren - a bird which has long been revered in Celtic culture as a symbol of fertility and heralded as "king of all birds" through the island's Hunt the Wren celebration on 26 December.

Wood, whose project has been supported by Culture Vannin and the Isle of Man Arts Council, said "we need to hang on" to Manx culture.

The book follows the story of a wren, getting ready to celebrate Christmas throughout the two-week-long Kegeesh Ommidjagh, which runs from 21 December to 6 January.

The Kegeesh Ommidjagh was historically a time when islanders set aside work and instead celebrated the festive period by eating, drinking and partying with impunity.

To prepare for the book, Wood said she read into old Manx Christmas traditions such as the mollag bands and tittlewhack.

"I did a lot of research on how food was used on Christmas Day like mashed potato or 'tittlewhack' - it was a really exciting meal to have mashed potato," she said.

The name of the dish comes from the sound it would make in the pot "as it was being stirred when you got it to the right consistency", Wood continued.

Her story also details the mollag bands, a festive tradition which Wood admits she knew little about before writing.

"The bands, around Christmas time, would roam around town playing music and hitting people with these Mollag's which were an inflated pigs bladder traditionally used by fishermen to keep their nets floating on the surface of the water.

"I can imagine teenagers finding that hilarious."

The Kissing Bush also makes an appearance, a wreath-shaped ornament hung from the ceiling, while the book ends by detailing the party which celebrates the end of the Kegeesh Ommidjagh.

"Whoever is the violin player at the end of the party, they pretend to cut off his head and he can then predict the future."

The author, who also illustrated the book, said it was a challenge to translate and make accessible Manx traditions for a younger audience.

"There's a shortage of children's literature about the Isle of Man," she said.

"I've got children of my own, I think Manx culture is amazing so it's our job to hang on to that and share it with the next generation so they can pass it on.

"These stories need to be told."

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