Nollag na mBan – Celebrating Women in Ireland

The circles of women around us weave invisible nets of love that carry us when we are weak and sing with us when we are strong
~Sark

Today, January 6, is the Twelfth Day of Christmas. The last day of Christmas for another year. The Feast of the Three Wise Men, the Epiphany, Little Christmas, it has many names. The day in Ireland that the Christmas decorations come down. Because if they come down before, or stay up after, you are in for bad luck for the rest of the year!

It is also Nollag na mBan, (pronounced null-eg na mon) the Women’s Little Christmas. Traditionally, it was the day when the men took over all the household chores and gave the women the day off after the busy holiday season. Mothers and Grandmothers often received gifts and the women spent the day visiting and chatting with friends, sipping tea, and enjoying the Christmas cake.

Experiencing a Revival

In most of Ireland, the tradition has virtually died out. It is really only kept in Counties Kerry and Cork in the west of Ireland. But today the holiday is experiencing a bit of a revival

While the Christmas meal was a big one, the fare is a bit more delicate for Nollag na mBan – tea, sandwiches, cakes, and perhaps a drop of wine. A ladies’ celebration. You might find hotels and restaurants offering a high tea, or a special dinner menu.

Long gone are the days when women traditionally stayed in the home. In the agricultural society that Ireland was, women worked hard alongside the men, cutting hay and turf, minding the children (and there were many!), keeping the house and cooking

I can remember my maternal grandmother and my aunt milking cows by hand. They kept calves, hens, and pigs. A farm was a nearly self-sufficient entity. And the work was endless.

My paternal grandmother could ride a horse (sidesaddle) and a bicycle, but she never drove a car. She would cycle 4 miles into town each day to get her “messages” and I recall cycling along behind, as fast as my small legs would go. Then I would carry the basket to the kitchen garden where we would pick apples and dig potatoes for the dinner. All this on a solid fuel stove – she never had an electric range/oven

A Modern Celebration

Today many of Ireland’s well-educated women don’t work nearly as hard physically, but still, most of “Christmas” is done by women. Shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking, baking, entertaining – and a casual day out with friends is something to look forward to.

Modern Ireland is a far different country than it was in the days of my grandmothers. But Nollag na mBan is a tradition that warrants reviving. Rather than a just day of relaxation after the holidays it has become a celebration of women, their friendships, contributions, and sisterhood.

So this January 6, raise a glass – be it tea or wine – to the women in your life. Mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. Happy Nullag na mBan.