Christmas Day, 25th of December is celebrated throughout the country, with homes and shops being decorated with lights and in the homes a Christmas Tree with decorations. Presents are usually given on Christmas Day to family and friends. Santa Claus visits children in their homes and leaves presents for them.
Easter Sunday (date changes each year) is another religious holiday celebrated in Ireland, children are given Easter Eggs (chocolate) and also some families decorate eggs and have Easter Egg hunts in gardens and parks. Easter Monday is the only public holiday that can vary significantly from year to year. The date of Easter moves every year within the international calendar for civil use. Broadly speaking, Easter should be the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after 21 March. This means that the earliest possible date for Easter Sunday in any year is 22 March, the latest is 25 April. Easter Monday will fall on the following dates between 2017 and 2020: 17 April 2017, 2 April 2018, 22 April 2019, 13 April 2020.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.