Join your family, friends and SiStars in celebrating YOUR HerStory on Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Little Christmas in Irish).
For those of you not familiar with Women’s Little Christmas, it is a Celtic tradition from days of yore and is still celebrated in Ireland, the Isle of Man and in some parts of England and Scotland, and possibly in other countries.
Many start their 12 Days of Solstice (or Christmas) with celebrations on “Mother’s Night” (Solstice Eve or Christmas Eve). I love the symmetry of honouring ALL women on Twelfth Night!
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas —January 6th, which is also the Christian holiday of Epiphany — women of all ages would get together and celebrate. . . and the men would stay at home! It became a perfect time to share stories, bond, dream, celebrate. Not exactly a Red Tent, but close to it! Often, it’s more likely the pub . . . but that’s another story!
This holiday is now being reclaimed (and secularized) as a celebration of women, our Divine Feminine and of our herstories: the women we know, the women who inspire us, the women of our blood (family) and bone (ancestors), the women of our future (our daughters, nieces, and descendants).
This is my invitation to you:
Create YOUR Women’s Little Christmas on the 12th Night weekend (Friday January 3rd to Sunday January 5th) or on the traditional date of January 6th, and feel free to call it whatever you want!
Honour the Divine Feminine in YOUR life. Spend some time with family, friends, acquaintances… give them a call, visit, have a laugh, cook a meal together, craft together, share a story, light a candle, celebrate being aligned with the Divine Feminine. Celebrate being a woman / womxn.
Honour your Sheroes.
Honour your Heroines.
FYI, the herstory movement in Ireland is telling the lost stories of hundreds of Irish women from both history and today’s world… in performances, storytelling, illuminations and more. Check out their herstory page and website (https://www.herstory.ie/home) for events.
For your Soul Work:
You may find that the women you celebrate on Nollaig na mBan become part of the lore and inspiration for the Women’s Wheel of Life archetypes that many of us worked with in the course “13 Moons, 13 Goddesses” (now complete, but will be offered again!).
Be sure to journal your inspirations and perhaps even consider which archetype they are aligned with (a quick review can be found here).
If I think back to my inspiration as a child, I know how much I loved reading stories about strong and amazing women — heroines, adventurers, explorers, leaders, scientists, goddesses and more — even young adult literature featuring independent clever girls (Nancy Drew anyone?). So many archetypes there! And this year young women like Greta Thunberg have inspired so many of us.
Some of these tales were the stuff of myth and legend, while others were about real women. And for me, some of the most amazing stories were ones I heard at home… how the women who came before me lived their lives, and faced challenges that we can’t even imagine.
I invite you to share HerStories that influenced YOU… changed YOU … inspired YOU. These may be stories from your own life, from your ancestors, from family lore, from books you’ve read, from women you don’t know but have influenced you. It can be as simple as just a few names of women who inspired you, a picture of someone who inspired you…. or as detailed as you wish.
If you don’t know much of your family history, this would be a great time to connect with other family members and ask them to share their memories of the past.
And if you are not connected to your birth family, take some time to meditate and journey with your Ancestors (this is always a good thing to do!!!!)… you are connected to them through the DNA that provided the blueprint for YOU, the wonderful being that came into this world. You may find some wonderful inspiration on the journey.
We stand on the shoulders of all women who came before us.
Women of the future are already standing on YOUR shoulders.