| nix001 | Friday, December 26, 2008 - 01:35 am 
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Main article: St. Stephen's Day
In Western Christianity, December 26, is called "St Stephen's Day", the "feast of Stephen" of the Christmas carol, "Good King Wenceslas"; it is a public holiday in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, Republika Srpska, England and Wales, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Finland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In Catalonia (though not elsewhere in Spain) it is called 'Sant Esteve' and is a bank holiday. It is called 'Saint Etienne' in France, where it is a bank holiday in the Alsace-Moselle region (but not elsewhere). December 26 is also a holiday in Tuguegarao City, Philippines, which celebrates a fiesta in honor of St Stephen Protomartyr, its patron saint.
One of the best loved Christmas Carols is the 129-year-old carol: Good King Wenceslas.
Jolly Old St. Wenceslas
Who was King Wenceslas anyway? Wenceslas was the Duke of Bohemia who was murdered in 929 AD by his wicked younger brother, Boleslav. As the song indicates, he was a good, honest, and strongly principled man. The song expresses his high moral character in describing King Wenceslas braving a fierce storm in order to help feed a poor neighbour. Wenceslas believed that his Christian faith needed to be put into action in practical ways.
Who was ST. Stephen?
Acts tells the story of how Stephen was tried by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy against Moses and God (Acts 6:11) and speaking against the Temple and the Law (Acts 6:13-14) (see also Antinomianism) and was then stoned to death (c. A.D. 34-35) by an infuriated mob encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, the future Saint Paul: "And Saul entirely approved of putting him to death" (8:1). [2]. Stephen's final speech is presented as making an accusation against the Jews of continuing to persecute prophets who spoke out against their sins:
'"Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers." (7:52)
Saint Stephen's name is simply derived from the Greek Stephanos, meaning "crown", which translated into Aramaic as Kelil. Saint Stephen is traditionally invested with a crown of martyrdom for Christianity and is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' palm. |
