Little Christmas

The names and events associated with a festival like Christmas are innumerable; one such is Little Christmas. Deriving its name from the Julian calendar, according to which Christmas is celebrated on January 6, it is widely celebrated in Ireland to mark the end of Christmas celebrations in the country, especially for school children. On this day, Irish people remove all the Christmas decorations from their Christmas trees and cook a turkey to mark the end of celebrations. In Ireland, the day is also known by the name 'women's Christmas' as it is the day on which women get a break from their household responsibilities and are given presents by their husbands and children. In some countries, the festival is known by the name 'Feast of Epiphany' or 'Old Christmas'. For countries like Sweden and Norway, Little Christmas falls on January 13. Read through the next section to know more about the traditions and customs associated with Little Christmas.

A Christmas Story

Little Christmas In Ireland
Little Christmas marks the end of twelve days of Christmas celebrations in Ireland which include the removal of decorations and cooking of a turkey. It is considered unlucky to remove the decorations before that date. The day is also known as 'women's Christmas' as it is the day on which women are relieved of all household responsibilities and allowed to take rest. Irish men take up the household jobs as women go out with their friends and relatives to celebrate in restaurants and bars. Women often are presented with gifts by their husbands, brothers and other male relatives.

Little Christmas In The Rest Of The World
Little Christmas is celebrated on 'New year's Day' in Scottish highlands where they call the Feast of Epiphany, the 'Feast of the kings'. For the Transalpine Redemptorists, who live on Papa Stronsay Island, the twenty fifth day of every month is 'Little Christmas' except for the month of December when Christmas naturally falls on twenty fifth. For people in countries such as Sweden and Norway, Little Christmas is the day when all the decorations and ornamentations are removed from the Christmas trees and leftover food is eaten. Interestingly, they celebrate little Christmas on January 13, twenty days after Christmas. The Isle of Man celebrates New Year's day on January 1 as Little Christmas, and January 6 as Old Christmas day, while Scandinavians refer Christmas Eve as Little Christmas.

Feast Of Epiphany In Spain
In Spain, little Christmas is known by the name 'Feast of epiphany', and is the day when Spanish people exchange gifts and gold to commemorate the day when the 'Three Wise Men' bought gold and other gifts for baby Jesus.

Little Christmas has plenty of stories and names associated with it and the above article just is a summary of the varied interesting traditions that it entails.