an excerpt from an article by Sheila Flitton on ireland-fun-facts.com:
“Nollaig na mBan” or “Little Women’s Christmas” is an old custom that’s still celebrated by women all over Ireland. It goes back to the days when large families were the norm. Men never lifted a finger in the house to help, and were never expected to. If a man washed the dishes, he would be called an “auld woman” by other men. No full blooded Irish man was prepared to risk that!
But each year, after the Christmas holiday, tired women finally got a break – for one day, at least. On January 6th (the same day as the Epiphany), men would take over of the housework, offering women a chance to go out to relax with each other.
We did celebrate, although Seth forgot about it until that evening, so we celebrated on the 7th. There’s some pretty good take out food in Youghal…
That is an interesting tradition! Would like to start that one here in the states!
Darleen