{"id":217397,"date":"2025-12-30T03:41:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T03:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/217397\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T03:41:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T03:41:07","slug":"in-ireland-women-celebrate-their-own-christmas-in-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/217397\/","title":{"rendered":"In Ireland, women celebrate their own “Christmas” in January"},"content":{"rendered":"

Groome\u2019s father owned a pub, The Clodagh, in County Tipperary, where she grew up. (Groome moved to Cork for college when she was 18.) On Nollaig na mBan, her father cooked dinner and cared for the kids. Groome also recalls that the men left the pub early and headed home. \u201cWomen\u2019s Christmas was the night that there would be no man in the pub,\u201d she says, an unusual scene in Ireland where men predominantly filled the pubs until the late 1970s<\/a>. A female-only holiday was an anomaly, notes Groome, especially in rural Ireland where traditional gendered roles dominated. \u201cI think this quaint looking Irish tradition was quite feminist really in its own way,\u201d says McGarry via email. Nollaig na mBan acknowledged women\u2019s labor and even rewarded women for it, even if just for one day.<\/p>\n

(National Geographic’s essential guide to visiting Ireland<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The (temporary) reversal of gender roles<\/p>\n

By the mid-20th century,<\/a> the holiday largely died out. McGarry it was less popular during her mother\u2019s time, but that prior generations in her family celebrated. When McAuliffe first moved to Dublin in the 1990s as a student, no one knew about it, she says. In the last 20 years, a new generation discovered, or rediscovered, Nollaig na mBan, according to McAuliffe, who says it\u2019s now celebrated nationally. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty much written into the calendar,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Since the holiday\u2019s inception, like in most parts of the world, gender roles have significantly changed: many more women work outside the home and many more men are involved with childcare. \u201cIt is a little bit outdated and we’re all aware of that,\u201d says 24-year-old Vivienne Sayers,<\/a> who was born in Cork and who now promotes Irish language and culture on social media where a quarter of a million people follow<\/a> her. \u201cSo now we’re adapting it now to our more contemporary ideals of, \u2018let’s just have it as a day to partake and enjoy ourselves and celebrate women\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an inclusive celebration, notes McAuliffe. \u201cYoung women, older women, married, single, straight, gay, trans all celebrate,\u201d she says. In its essence, Nollaig na mBan is about women supporting women, celebrating women\u2019s contributions and female friendships, says McAuliffe, Groome and Sayers. \u201cWe are claiming [the holiday] more as part of our identity and because of this resurgence now in Irish culture and language,\u201d Sayers adds who shared a short video about Nollaig na mBan on Instagram<\/a> in January last year, which over 18 thousand people liked.<\/p>\n