Saint Distaff's Day

It seems fitting that my first class this semester will be on January seventh. In many traditions the Christmas holiday extends for 12 days after Christmas, and Twelfth Night is celebratad on January sixth. Or in Spain the sixth is Three Kings Day, and is the day when Christmas presents are exchanged, in remembrance that it was the three kings who brought gifts to the Christ child, and it took them some time to arrive after the birth.

The seventh of January may be considered the day to transition back from holiday mode into work mode, and St. Distaff's Day is a reminder for the women to take up the distaff once again and get back to work. However, the boys didn't have to go back to work until Plow Monday - the first Monday after the twelfth day. That often meant that the girls would go out with their spindles trying to get back in to the spirit of productivity (or not) while the boys, still allowed a few more days of idleness, sat around tormenting the girls.

Partly work and partly play
Ye must on St. Distaff's Day;
Give St. Distaffe all the right,
Then give Christmas sport goodnight;
And next morrow, everyone
To his own vocation.

I try to honor St. Distaff's Day by doing some spinning on that day each year. Not that I stopped during the Christmas holidays, but I never do get as much spinning done as I would like.