"'Twas the week after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ... except the mom taking down all the decorations, washing dishes, recycling wrapping paper and donating old toys to make room for the new ones. The mental load of the holidays can feel overwhelming, exhausting, impossible and unfair, often resting on the backs of women. But Ireland, that magical country across the ocean, has a solution for that."
"It's called "Nollaig na mBan" meaning "Women's Christmas," and it occurs every Jan. 6 to coincide with Christianity's Feast of the Epiphany, when the Magi brought gifts to the Christ child. It also happens to be the 12th day of Christmas, the day the Irish traditionally take down their Christmas trees and decorations. Irish history communicator Jane Casey tells TODAY.com that the holiday has "misogynistic" roots, as it stems from conventional gender roles."
""They met up with friends, went to pubs - a novelty, as women weren't allowed in many pubs - gathered in one another's homes, and enjoyed the leftover food from Christmas." Casey says that Nollaig na mBan existed in the cultural consciousness when she was growing up in County Wicklow in the 1990s, but it was never actually observed. These days, however, modern Irish women are giving new meaning to the holiday."
Mental load of the holidays often falls on women, who handle decorations, dishes, recycling, and donations. Nollaig na mBan, meaning "Women's Christmas," occurs on Jan. 6, aligning with the Feast of the Epiphany and the twelfth day when Christmas trees are traditionally taken down. The holiday has roots in conventional gender roles: historically, women took Jan. 6 off, met friends, went to pubs (a novelty), gathered in homes, and enjoyed leftover food. Younger generations have reclaimed the day to celebrate women's contributions to culture, art, politics, friendship, and community through grassroots events like Atlantic swims, poetry nights, and music gigs.
Read at TODAY.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]