If you think that Christmas creates a whole lot of extra work, spare a thought for the women of Ireland. In Ireland there was an ancient Celtic tradition to purify your home during the Winter Solstice. Whitewashing the walls and cleaning the house were common practice at Christmas. This tradition lives on today in rural Ireland, and goes so far as to include a thorough car wash.

The Irish Christmas is mostly a religious celebration - after the cleaning spree their festive season lasts from Christmas Eve to the epiphany feast on 6th January. After they have cleaned the house top to bottom (and the car), Irish women then bake a seed cake for each individual person in the house and also make three puddings for Christmas Day, New Years day and the twelfth night. If that's not enough work, after a Christmas Eve feast the dining table is set again for Mary and Joseph. They are provided with a meal of milk and filled bread. A candle is lit to offer out the household's hospitality, with doors left unlocked.

The final feast of epiphany, or the 'little Christmas', is when Irish women get their well earned break. On this day, the men of the household are supposed to do all the housework and cooking with the women finally getting a day off. I wonder how often that really happens?

Information from
http://www.santas.net/irishchristmas.htm
http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-world/ireland.html
http://www.members.tripod.com/~pg4anna/xmas.htm
http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/36749

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