History of Distaff Day: Back to Work
The Spinner, by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1873). Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF DISTAFF DAY: BACK TO WORK
Distaff Day originated in medieval European traditions – where it marked the day after Epiphany (January 6) – and was an unofficial celebration traditionally observed on January 7.
The Twelve Days of Christmas, a period of celebration and rest from labor, were now over.
On Distaff Day, women traditionally returned to their domestic duties, particularly spinning wool or flax. The day is named after the distaff, a tool used to hold unspun fibers during hand-spinning, which became a symbol of women’s work.
What’s the backstory of Distaff Day, is it religious, how is the word associated with women?
Naming of Distaff Day
Distaff with a spindle. Image: Wikipedia
The resumption of spinning on this day gave rise to the name “Distaff Day” or “Rock Day”, with “rock” referring to the distaff in some dialects.
In many European cultural traditions, women would resume household work after the holiday. In pre-industrial Europe, spinning was the only way to turn raw wool, cotton, or flax into thread for weaving into cloth.
Women’s Association with Distaff
The word “distaff” can also be used as an adjective to talk about the matrilineal side of a family, meaning a person’s mother and her family members. This term originated in English-speaking areas where spinning tools were commonly used to represent everyday life.
In the Book of Proverbs, the “wife of noble character” is someone who “holds the distaff.”
She layeth her hands to the spindle,
and her hands hold the distaff.
–Proverbs 31: 19, KJV
In journalism, reporters would use the phrase “on the distaff side” when they were switching from covering male sporting events to women’s events.
Astronomical trivia:
Frigga Spinning the Clouds” by John Charles Dollman (1909). Image: NorseMythology.org
In Norse mythology according to the Prose Edda, the goddess Frigg, wife of Odin and mother of Thor, spins clouds from her jeweled distaff in the constellation known as Frigg’s Spinning Wheel, or Friggerock, also known as Orion’s Belt.
Men’s Association with the Plough
Men also observed this post-holiday return to work. It was called Plough Monday, the first Monday following Epiphany, suggesting a return to their agricultural work. In some years, Distaff Day and Plough Monday fall on the same day.
Saint Distaff’s Day
It is sometimes called Saint Distaff Day, but the “saint” in the name is a misnomer; there is no saint associated with the holiday. But it became a humorous counterpart to the religious calendar. Nevertheless, January 7 is also Orthodox Christmas Day.
The poet and Anglican cleric Robert Herrick, in his 1648 poem St. Distaff’s Day, describes women and men playing pranks on each other. Men would sometimes attempt to burn the flax on the women’s distaffs, while the women would retaliate by dousing the men with buckets of water.
As the Industrial Revolution changed textile production, Europe moved from home to factory, the holiday faded… but spinners still remember it.
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com
