Tibb’s Eve
Tibb’s Eve refers to both a folk expression for a day which will never arrive, as well as a celebration held on December 23 originating in Newfoundland and Labrador. Saint Tibb is a character appearing in 17th-century English plays. The word was also used to describe a ‘wanton’ woman.
About Tibb’s Eve in brief
Tibb’s Eve refers to both a folk expression for a day which will never arrive, as well as a celebration held on December 23 originating in Newfoundland and Labrador. Saint Tibb is a character appearing in 17th-century English plays. The word was also used to describe a ‘wanton’ woman. To say something would happen on Tib’s Eve was to say it would never happen. The day became associated with the Christmas season. Sometime after World War II, people along the south coast of Newfoundland began to associate Dec. 23 with the ‘tibb’s Eve’ night. For many Newfoundlandlanders, this day is the official opening of Christmas, the first chance to drink the stash of alcohol. The only excuse to drink alcohol on New Year’s Eve in Newfoundland is to imbibe two days earlier. For some people, Tibs Eve is the beginning of the Christmas holiday season, sometimes called Tip’s Eve or Tipp’s Eve.
The phrase is also used as an evasion, as it is said to occur neither before nor after Christmas. In 1903, the phrase was included on a list of words in the Ulster dialect used in the Midland and Northwestern Counties as ‘a festival not to be found in the Calendar.’ In 1921, then acting mayor JJ Mullaly used the phrase in this way, noting, “You and the Mayor might be writing till Tibb”s Eve without result.” This use continued in the province at least into the 1970s: Tibb’s. Eve was traditionally used in Newfoundland vernacular as a unspecified date that didn’t exist. If you asked someone when they were going to pay you back the money they owed you they might answer ‘On Tib b’s Eve,’ meaning that you probably won’t see that money again. Some folks say it falls between the old and new year; others describe it as one that comes ‘neither before nor After Christmas’
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This page is based on the article Tibb’s Eve published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 25, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
