Nollaig na mBan marked in Tipperary

Photo © Tipp FM

A Tipperary historian is reminding us all that today is Women’s Little Christmas.

In celebration of the feast of the Epiphany in Ireland, January 6th is traditionally marked by Nollaig na mBan.

However, despite the tradition it doesn’t seem to have the same relevance today.

Tipp Town’s Mary Alice O’Connor says it was originally predominately celebrated in Cork, Kerry and the West of Ireland, and was when families were stereotypical.

“The roles were kind of reversed or at least the men looked after the children did whatever they were capable at least, might not have been great, but the women had celebration, but they didn’t have a big dinner or a bottle of wine, they might have had tea, people lived differently they often had the mother in law, the sister of the man of the house living in the house.. they didn’t have that nuclear family we think of now.”

Mary Alice also told Tipp Today that it doesn’t appear to be celebrated in the same way elsewhere in the world.

“I see people commenting who are now living in UK from Cork and Kerry in particular saying they missed it, or that they have started a little tradition and explained it in the community that they are living in but it seems to not be a tradition in other countries that I can see. In Italy for example which would the same as ourselves have been seen to be very Catholic it would be the feast of the epiphany , because it is a Holy Day in the Church calendar.”