The New Nation - Internet Edition

Barbara Lewis

At the start of November, an outpouring of indignant press comment followed; decision that was interpreted as a ban on Christmas in the highly traditional university-city of Oxford. The charity, Oxford Inspires, whose ideas triggered the debate, hastily issued a clarification. It said its concept of a Winter Light Festival did not "distance itself from Christmas in the slightest". Instead, it is a nearly two-month-long programme from mid-November to early-January, which includes Christmas, as well as other events.

For the women of the southern English city and elsewhere, this was not unalloyed good news. Far from just being a time of good will, Christmas tends to coincide with family rows, domestic violence, crippling expenses and, for women, hours in the kitchen preparing Christmas pudding, turkey and all the trimmings.

Domestic violence charities say the number of distress calls does not reach a peak until January as women, anxious to avoid dismpting the family Christmas, wait until New Year to seek help. "Christmas can be particularly stressful for women living with violent partners, as the family is together for an extended period of time and existing abuse can intensify," said Nicola Hafvin, Chief Executive of Women's Aid, a British charity that helps more than 250,000 women and children, on average, every year.

"Often, a woman will not leave their abusive partner during the festive season because she does not want her family, particularly her children, to feel upset during Christmas. As a result, New Year can be a very busy time for domestic violence services. Many of our refuge member services see a New Year msh as women seek help and support."

In the first weeks of 2008, telephone calls to the National Domestic Violence helpline rose by 28 per cent from an average of 345 calls per day to 443, Women's Aid said. Figures for the four preceding years tell a similar story, with call volumes increasing on average by 27 per cent in January and decreasing slightly in Febmary.

Outside the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland has traditionally been regarded as a conservative, Roman Catholic society and its men have had a reputation for drinking heavily rather than treating their wives fairly. Whether or not the stereotypical image was deserved, there has long been at least one day of the year when women have had their way.

Nollaig Bheag in Irish. Celebrated on January 6 at the end of the 12 days of Christmas, it is also known as Women's Christmas because it is the time when Irish men take on all the household duties and give their wives a day off.

Far from dying in these days of equal opportunity, the tradition is alive and well and has spread to Irish emigrant communities around the world, for instance in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Keiran Burke, a local studies specialist at Cork library confirmed Little Christmas was "popular with women still" in Cork, southwestern Ireland, and beyond. He quoted from 'The Year in Ireland' by Irish folklorist Kevin Danahar, which states Christmas Day (December 25) was a time of beef and whisky - or men's fare - while on January 6 women's fare, including cake, tea and wine were "more in evidence".

Actress and playwright Sheila Flitton, on the website www.ireland-fun-facts.com. describes the Little Christmases of her youth and the ones of today. Returning to her native Cork, Flitton said she found that on January 6, women of all ages dominated the clientele of bars and restaurants. When she was a child, it was a time when they were allowed to burst into the men's world of the "snug", or private bar inside public houses, where they would spend the few shillings they had saved for this day of wild celebration. "After an initial chat about the worries and cares of the old year, a pact would be made to leave them outside the door (something that was easier to do before the advent of cell phones). They'd be as free as the birds in the sky for the day - and well on into the evening," she wrote.

In what was then a reversal of traditional male and female roles, they would eventually break into drunken singing. "Late at night, with shawls dropped over their shoulders, words slurred and voices hoarse, they would always sing," said Flitton. Once the hangovers had cleared, they would revert to being good little housewives for the rest of the year.

Ireland today doubtless has its fair share of new men who help out in the kitchen as well as of "ladette" women, who go out drinking all year round. For all that, women still need their Little Christmas day of female bonding to recover from the stresses and strains of their other Christmas.