Christmas comes early at the Saddle Inn in Douglas every year.
As part of a tradition going back more than 20 years the pub celebrates an extra Christmas Day on Tynwald Day.
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Pub landlady, Christina Maccuish, explained why: ‘It was something that was started by the old landlords, Mick and Sue McGovern around 20 years ago.
‘They wanted to do something a bit different for Tynwald Day and in those days pubs weren’t allowed to open on Christmas Day, so they decided to hold their own Christmas Day celebrations in the pub on July 5 instead.
‘Some of our regulars used to mention the tradition to us, saying how much they enjoyed it, so about five years ago we decided we should start it up again,’ says Christina.
‘This year we’re going a little bit further, we’re celebrating Christmas Eve as well, so we’re doing it even earlier, the decorations will probably be up from Wednesday night in fact.
‘We’re having a Christmas karaoke on Thursday night for our Christmas Eve celebration and over the ‘festive’ period we also hold raffles and draws, with presents and prizes,’ adds Christina.
The quirky tradition gives people something else to do after the Tynwald Day celebrations as well as providing fun for those who can’t wait for Christmas to come, and raising money for good causes.
‘We choose a different charity each year to give all the money raised to, so it’s all in a good cause as well as being fun for people,’ says Christina.
‘Last year we raised £650 and donated it to Age Concern.
‘This year we’re donating it to Gareth Cowin’s charity, the Special Olympian who tragically died while in South Korea with the Manx team,’ she added.
Gareth was a Manx Special Olympics floor hockey player who passed away, aged just 25, on January 30 after contracting a deadly virus during the trip. He had previously won a gold medal in football for the Isle of Man at the World Summer Games in Athens.
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How are you celebrating Tynwald Day?
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