The rest of my time-off since New Year’s has been quiet. I went on a long walk with some friends on January 1st, and have seen a few other people over the past week. After weeks of mild weather, Ireland is finally getting some truly cold winter weather with lows falling below freezing at night. It’s still mild compared to many other places, but much colder than it ever got in San Francisco. I am enjoying the opportunity to break out my neglected wardrobe of warmer clothes. After a Monday bank holiday, I returned to work on Tuesday and am already feeling a heavy weight back on my shoulders.
Today (January 6th) is “Little Christmas” or “Women’s Christmas” in Ireland — in Irish, Nollaig na mBan, pronounced Null-ug na Mon. It’s more widely known as the Feast of the Epiphany and the twelfth day of Christmastide marking the official end of the Christmas season. Having not witnessed this tradition first hand, I have to resort heavily from online sources for my information on this topic. Traditionally in Ireland (and apparently in Puerto Rico also), Nollaig na mBan is the day on which all the Christmas decorations must come down—not before or after—or else risk bad luck for the rest of the year. I am planning on taking down tonight! The designation of “Women’s Christmas” comes from the Irish tradition of rewarding the female family members with a day off after all their hard work over the Christmas season. (How generous… one whole day off!) This tradition was apparently more common in rural Ireland, where women would gather in each other’s homes or local pubs for a few stolen hours of gaiety while the men looked after the brood. Unfortunately, restaurants and pubs are still required to close by 8:00pm due to the omicron wave, so there are probably few women out celebrating this year.
In COVID news, Ireland surpassed its previous record with a tally of 23,817 new cases today. The actual number of new infections is surely much higher. However, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is not recommending any further restrictions at this time. Schools reopened today, despite there being widespread concerns about the spread of COVID among children not to mention teachers. One in eight healthcare workers are off work due to self-isolation requirements after testing positive for COVID. Other pubs and restaurants, including PantiBar, have been closed due to outbreaks among staff. The peak of the omicron wave is expected in the next week or two.
Until next time….
