Nollaig na mBan. Women's little Xmas.

I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas and each one of you received something nice in your stocking and I don’t mean your foot.  Today I am starting where I left off last week with a little bit of Irish folklore concerning a tradition that is still celebrated in some homes and I worry that if we’re not careful it may disappear like so many of our old traditions. Have a listen and see what you think.

 

Nollaig na mBan Women’s Little Christmas.

There was a time in Ireland and it wasn’t that long ago that we celebrated what was known as Nollaig na mBan or Woman’s Little Christmas. This was on the Epiphany January 6^th and it was on this day that all the women of Ireland would be shown appreciation by their partners for the hard work done over the Christmas period. Women would or should put up their feet and the men should take over all the household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and washing. In some areas the children of the house would give their mother and grandmothers a little gift just to say thank you, although this tradition has been replaced by Mothers Day.

Little Christmas is slowly dying out in many parts of Ireland and some think that’s a good thing as the modern women has an equal role in the home. Many women now go out to work either through choice or necessity and sometimes are the major wage earners so it has been suggested that to have a Little Christmas is in some way belittling women. However, here in the west we should be setting an example as Little Christmas should be celebrated not as a day off for the little woman but as a heartfelt thank you for all that the women of the household do for each and every one of us.

The Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the three Kings or Wise Men at the crib and in Ireland it is the last day of Christmas. This is the day when we take down all the decorations as according to tradition if you leave them up any longer then it may result in bad luck. The only way round this is to leave them up for twelve months and take them down next time. The Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian holy days that originated in the Eastern church and was adopted by the Western church in the 4th century. ‘Little Christmas’ is so-called because under the Julian Calendar, Christmas day celebrations were held in January, whereas under the Gregorian calendar, Christmas day falls on December 25.

Twelfth Night has been celebrated as the last day of Christmas for hundreds of years. Twelfth Night parties were common and people enjoyed food, drink and games. A special cake was the centre piece of the table and it has been suggested that this was the forerunner of the Christmas cake most of us enjoy today and a slice was given to all members of the household both above and below stairs.

Ireland is still one of the few countries that still celebrate Little Christmas. Some stories tell us that it began as part of the rural tradition of women raising a few turkeys or geese to sell off at Christmas in order to raise a little extra money to help out with the extra expense of Christmas. The money could be used to buy a few little extras for the family and if any money was left over then the women could buy themselves something in January.  So as a sign of appreciation for all that has been done for you over the past year why not revive the tradition in your own home otherwise like so many of our old traditions it will quietly fade away.