St. Distaff's Day

Good morning my friends, and Happy New Year! I am sitting here on a frosty morning with a cup of coffee, trying to get myself sorted out for getting ‘back into routine.’ This ‘getting back to it’ is something people have been doing for centuries though, so it is nothing new! And did you know that this particular day has a name? Well friends, it does! Happy St. Distaff Day!

Once the 12 days of Christmas were well and truly over at Epiphany, our ancestors would wake on January 7th to observe “St. Distaff Day.” Funnily enough, St. Distaff is not so much a person as it is a thing. A distaff is a long stick or spindle on which flax would be twisted or tied to use for spinning (see one such distaff in my painting above!)

In the past, a distaff was a common household item that women of every class would have. No matter if she were a grand lady or a peasant, spinning was work that took up a good amount of a woman’s time (and her children’s time too! You can use a drop spindle while you gather the sheep, kids!)

And as a woman’s work is always waiting, the day after Epiphany meant back to the distaff and so January 7 was cheekily called “St. Distaff Day.”

While this day could be lost to the obscurity of time, it has been picked up again by those of us who enjoy our fiber arts- and there are often gatherings of knitters, crocheters and spinners held in honor of St. Distaff Day! I keep meaning to host one…but alas, as our foremothers knew well, it comes so quickly after Christmas!

The men, of course were not left out of the business of getting back to work, and their day to return to the fields is called “Plow Monday” You’ll notice, though, that their day back gives them a bit more grace to ‘ease into things!’ This year’s Plow Monday- which is the first Monday after Epiphany- isn’t until January 13 this year!

Luckily for us, our family being clothed and warm doesn’t require us to be continually tied to the distaff, but for many of us the love of fiber arts lives on as a hobby.

If you love to knit, spin, weave, or crochet- today is your day to indulge in it! I’ve got a gorgeous basket full of wool from my friend Jules from Wool Maiden waiting for me to spin up! And there’s always a knitting project (or 5) on needles around the house, waiting for me to get back to it!

So on this St. Distaff Day, I wish you warmth and cozy good things!

Til next time-

Take Joy!
Heather