THe second day of Christmas, December 26
Merry Christmas...again! No, you are not trapped in one of those Hallmark-style movies that take the plot of Groundhog's Day and transpose it onto Christmas (I think there are about five). Instead, you are one of the fortunate few who are celebrating Christmas as a season, rather than as a single day. We promise that you are not cheating.
So get the kids up, or call a friend, and tell them, "Merry Christmas!" And continue giving and celebrating. Today the Western Church has traditionally remembered the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first of many Christians to die for his faith (Eastern Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, celebrate Stephen on December 27th). Remember how that one Christmas carol goes, "Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen"? This is why. It is one of the many counter-cultural aspects of Christian tradition that Stephen's martyrdom (like those of the other saints) is celebrated as a feast rather than mourned. The account in Acts (see "Scripture") may help us understand why.
So get the kids up, or call a friend, and tell them, "Merry Christmas!" And continue giving and celebrating. Today the Western Church has traditionally remembered the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first of many Christians to die for his faith (Eastern Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, celebrate Stephen on December 27th). Remember how that one Christmas carol goes, "Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen"? This is why. It is one of the many counter-cultural aspects of Christian tradition that Stephen's martyrdom (like those of the other saints) is celebrated as a feast rather than mourned. The account in Acts (see "Scripture") may help us understand why.
ACTIVITY
- Make use of some of the resources on the tabs below (carols, reflections, scripture, literature, etc.)
- Visit friends and family throughout the day, eating, drinking, talking, and giving gifts. Feel free to travel in a group and perform plays and songs for them, as is traditional in parts of Ireland.
- Celebrate "Boxing Day": Wrap a present (or cash) in a box and give it to a person who performs a (normally unthanked) civil service, such as a mail carrier or a garbage collector (you may, of course, have to wrap the gift today and give it to them when you next see them--and they may not be allowed to accept gifts). This old British tradition can be construed along broader lines, however: think about creative ways to show your appreciation for those whose work often goes unthanked. This could be as simple as leaving a larger tip than usual for a server.
- Ride in a sleigh pulled by a horse, as was traditional in Finland. Failing that, take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage--or, if weather is amenable go sledding or skiing.
- Read one of the books of Moses in memory of St. Stephen, and compare with his summary of Israel's history in Acts.
- Take a cue from King Wenceslas and find a creative way to serve the homeless, whether volunteering at a soup kitchen or something else.
- Read about present-day martyred Christians around the world and thank God for their witness. Then, pray for the persecuted Church. https://acninternational.org/, www.persecution.com or www.persecution.org are all good resources for this. There is also a "Voice of the Martyrs" app to help you stand in solidarity with the persecuted church. Globally, about one in twelve Christians is severely persecuted, but this fact is often ignored by both Christians and non-Christians in the West. Some of the most ancient communities of Christians--those in Iraq and Syria have been wiped out almost completely in the past half-decade. Below is a video from December 19 of this year in which Prince Charles gives a brief summary of the situation. I think it's altogether appropriate to hear it on The Feast of Stephen:
GIFT GIVING
- Give just one of the gifts you did not give on Christmas Day. We usually give our children the largest gifts we got for them on this day, and we give each other our third- or fourth-largest bought gift.
- Make a donation in someone's name to an organization such as Voice of the Martyrs that supports persecuted Christians, or to another group raising awareness of persecuted religious minorities in other countries.
- NO CASH OPTION: Bake Christmas cookies for other people in the shape of turtledoves. Give each person two of them.
