Old Christmas Day
| Nollaig na mBan | |
|---|---|
| Also called |
Ireland Women's Christmas Women's Little Christmas Nollaig na mBan Scotland Là Challuinn Là na Bliadhna Ùire Other Old Christmas |
| Observed by |
Christians in Ireland and the Irish diaspora, particularly women Scottish Highlanders |
| Type | Christian, Irish and Scottish |
| Significance | visit of the Three Kings to Jesus, former date of Christmas |
| Observances | religious services, gift giving, family gatherings, meeting friends |
| Date | 6 January in Ireland, 1 January in the Scottish Highlands |
| Related to | Christmas, Epiphany |
Little Christmas (Irish: Nollaig na mBan, lit. 'Women’s Christmas') is one of the traditional names in Ireland for 6 January, which is also known in other parts of the world as the Feast of the Epiphany. By the year AD 1500 eastern Churches were celebrating Christmas on 6 January and western churches were celebrating it on 25 December even though both were using the Julian Calendar. It is the traditional end of the Christmas season and until 2013 was the last day of the Christmas holidays for both primary and secondary schools in Ireland.
In the Scottish Highlands the term Little Christmas (Scottish Gaelic: Nollaig Bheag) is applied to New Year's Day, also known as Là Challuinn, or Là na Bliadhna Ùire, while Epiphany is known as Là Féill nan Rìgh, the feast-day of the Kings. The Transalpine Redemptorists who live on Papa Stronsay celebrate 'Little Christmas' on the twenty-fifth day of every month, except for December, when the twenty-fifth day is of course celebrated as Christmas Day.
In some parts of England, such as Lancashire, this day is also known as Little Christmas. In the Isle of Man, New Year's Day on 1 January was formerly called Laa Nolick beg in Manx, or Little Christmas Day, while 6 January was referred to as Old Christmas Day. The name Little Christmas is also found in other languages including Slovene (mali Božič), Galician (Nadalinho), and Ukrainian.
In Scandinavia, where the main celebration of Christmas is on Christmas Eve, the evening of the 23rd is known as little Christmas eve (Danish: lillejuleaften). In Norway and Sweden, Little Christmas Day refers to 13 January (Norwegian: Tyvendedagen; Swedish: Tjugondedag), twenty days after Christmas, and is regarded as the day when ornaments must be removed from Christmas trees and any leftover food must be eaten.
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