As the UK slowly returns to routine after Christmas and New Year, many women report feeling worn out rather than restored.
While the festive period is often portrayed as joyful, the reality for many households is a quiet imbalance of labour that becomes most visible once the celebrations end.
An Irish tradition known as Nollaig na mBan is now attracting renewed attention, not only in Ireland but also among women in the UK, for its simple yet powerful message: women deserve rest, recognition, and shared responsibility after the holidays.
What exactly is Nollaig na mBan?
Nollaig na mBan, meaning Women’s Christmas in Irish, is traditionally observed on 6 January, the Feast of the Epiphany.
This date marks the twelfth and final day of Christmas and has long been associated with clearing decorations, finishing leftovers and closing the festive season.
Historically, the day carried a social understanding that women, who had spent weeks cooking, cleaning and organising, would step back while men handled domestic tasks.
It’s Little Christmas / Epiphany / Nollaig na mBan – the traditional close of Christmas.
A day that honoured women’s work, rest, friendship & gathering.
While household life is thankfully shared now, women still, not exclusively are primarily carers. Nollaig na mBan sona Daoibh pic.twitter.com/zxz14Ve0ZG
— Hugh Gillanders – Aodh Mac Giolla Andreis (@HughGillanders) January 6, 2026
Irish history communicator Jane Casey has described it as “one of the few culturally accepted pauses for women’s unpaid labour in the 19th century.”
While not every household formally observed it, the idea of a dedicated day of rest for women was widely understood in rural Irish communities.
Why is Women’s Christmas still relevant today?
Despite progress in workplace equality, unpaid domestic work remains unevenly shared. UK figures from the Office for National Statistics (2023) show that women still perform significantly more unpaid household and care work than men, a gap that widens during the Christmas period due to planning, gift-buying, cooking, and emotional labour.
Nollaig na mBan has re-emerged as a symbolic response to this imbalance. Rather than reinforcing old gender roles, modern interpretations use the day to question why rest has historically been treated as optional for women.
At its core, the tradition highlights three realities that remain familiar to many UK women:
- The mental load of Christmas often falls disproportionately on women
- January is a peak period for exhaustion and low mood
- Rest is still too often seen as something to be earned, not expected
How are modern women celebrating Nollaig na mBan?
In contemporary Ireland, Women’s Christmas is rarely marked by strict rules. Instead, it has become flexible and personal. Some women gather for meals or walks, while others choose solitude, reflection, or creative events.
Social media has played a major role in this revival. Irish author Hadas Knox sparked widespread discussion after sharing an Instagram reel explaining Nollaig na mBan and linking it to modern burnout and trust dynamics within households.
“So many women said they felt trusted with everything, but supported by very little,” Knox noted when responding to the engagement her post received.
These conversations have led to grassroots activities such as sea swims, poetry readings, and informal meet-ups focused on connection rather than celebration.
Why is this tradition resonating with women in the UK?
Although Nollaig na mBan is rooted in Irish culture, its message has struck a chord with UK audiences.
January consistently ranks as one of the most challenging months for mental well-being, according to NHS data, and many women feel the pressure to immediately resume work, childcare, and household management after Christmas.
In cities such as London, Manchester, and Liverpool, community groups with Irish heritage have begun acknowledging Women’s Christmas through small gatherings or wellbeing walks. Others with no Irish background are adopting the day informally as a personal reset.
The appeal lies not in tradition itself, but in what it represents: permission to pause.
Is Nollaig na mBan about gender roles?
Modern supporters are clear that Women’s Christmas is not about returning to outdated divisions of labour. Instead, it encourages reflection on fairness and shared responsibility within households.
In many homes today, the day is marked symbolically rather than literally, often through:
- Open conversations about workload and burnout
- A conscious effort to share domestic tasks
- Allowing women to decide how they want to spend the day
