S’more Christmas: The First Day of Awesome!
I know, I know, I know. It’s late February. What are we doing talking about the 12 days of Christmas? We should be talking about St. Patrick’s Day or Lent! But I have a plan! Twelve months of the year = twelve blogs = twelve days of Christmas. Then, when The Twelve Days of Christmas start at the end of this year, you will have everything you need to celebrate the entire Christmastide season.
You see, most of us in America are totally missing out on the true joy of the holiday season that lasts far past Advent and Christmas Day. It continues all the way to Twelfth Night, aka Epiphany, aka Kings Day.
So, today we are delving into the history, the traditions, and the meaning of The First Day of Christmas, and it has nothing to do with a partridge in a pear tree.
When is the first day of Christmas?
Kinda crazy, but there are two different traditions. The more popular tradition is that the first day is Christmas Day. However, we know all about Christmas Day, and if I do a blog about Christmas Day… well, I will run out of months in the year to do this series. (Shh… I’m already doubling up.)
The other tradition is that the first day of Christmas is the day after Christmas, and if you follow that tradition, Epiphany is the twelfth day of Christmas. Since, Epiphany is sometimes called Twelfth Night, and I want to share the traditions of Epiphany in this series, we are going with this tradition.
Boxing Day? St. Stephen’s Day? Wren Day???
Goodness! Who knew that December 26th had so many names?
The name we are most likely to hear is Boxing Day, which is what the British typically call it. Did you notice my photo for the blog? I’m in a box. Get it? Boxing Day, and I’m in a box! Hahahaha!
But there are other names. To the Catholics, it is the Feast of St. Stephen. In the Isle of Man and parts of Ireland, it is known as Wren Day. So many names, but they all are just different views of the same holiday, which is truly focused on St. Stephen.
Who is St. Stephen?
This part is sad. You are forewarned. Saint Stephen was the first Christian to be martyred (killed for his faith). He was stoned to death in 36 C.E. You can read the whole story in the Bible, in the book of Acts, Chapter 7.
Stephen, one of the students of Jesus, gave a speech in front of the Jewish high priest a few years after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. Stephen tried to explain, using the history of Israel, that the crucifixion of Jesus was proof that he was like the prophets and that Jesus was the Righteous One that they prophesized about.
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
Acts 7: 52-53
The priests got angry, and they killed Stephen by stoning him to death. The cool thing is what happened next.
“But he [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’… And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Acts 7: 54-60
How do we celebrate such a heavy holiday?
The short answer: hunting wrens, visiting family, Boxing Day shopping, eating leftovers, singing Jingle Bells, attending horse races, and charitable acts. Say what?!? Let’s break it down.
Hunting Wrens
There is an old tradition that when the Jewish priests were hunting for Christians to interrogate, and a little wren bird started chirping and singing near where Stephen was hiding leading to his arrest. Well, that little story evolved into Wren Day.
- A group of men and boys hunt a wren. They parade through town with the wren on top of a staff decorated with holly and ivy.
- The “Wrenboys” dress in straw masks, greenery, and colorful clothing march through town singing songs and playing music in exchange for charitable donations.
- Afterwards, there was a funeral and burial for the wren.
- One origin of this tradition is from Celtic pagan beliefs that the wren was hunted and sacrificed in association with the winter solstice. Naturally, as Christian beliefs entered the area, the story of the wren outing Stephen was probably created as a way to keep the tradition and tie the holiday to a Bible story.
- Today, they don’t hunt wrens, but a stuffed wren is used year after year to celebrate.
Visiting Family and Eating Leftovers
Visiting family and eating leftovers is an Italian tradition for the first day of Christmas. This one makes a lot of sense because they truly relax on Christmas Day. On the 26th of December, they celebrate by visiting their family and enjoy Christmas Dinner II.
Plus, just like most families, sometimes you only have time to spend Christmas with one side of your family. The Italians, then, go visit the other side of their family on the 26th.
Boxing Day
No one really knows why it’s called “Boxing Day” for sure.
- It might be because there is a tradition of donating money to the poor in alms boxes in honor of St. Stephen, who was in charge of organizing money donated to the poor.
- It might be called Boxing Day because people started giving food, gifts, and money in Christmas boxes to their employees, coworkers, and tradespeople as a kind of year end tip.
- In recent years, stores offer big sales on this day (kind of like Black Friday in the U.S.). So, shoppers can buy a little gift for themselves after all the shopping they did for others. Long time ago, all their purchases used to be packaged up in boxes.
Horse Races & Jingle Bells
Because St. Stephen is the patron saint of horses, people used to go on sleigh rides and have horse races to celebrate the first day of Christmas.
It turns out that the song Jingle Bells was written about the one-horse open sleighs at the Feast of St. Stephen. Now, there are lots of sporting events held on December 26th, including a horse race for charity.
How will you celebrate the First Day of Christmas?
I think the Italian way is probably one of the best. You can celebrate by keeping Christmas Day celebrations with just your immediate family and then go visit or invite over the family and friends that you weren’t able to see on Christmas Day.
Also, finding ways to give to the poor is an honorable way of celebrating the true meaning of this holiday. Giving gifts to coworkers or postal workers or first responders or anyone who might be overlooked during the holiday season is a great way to honor the spirit of the first day of Christmas.
I know that we always celebrate the first day after Christmas Day with a BIG After Christmas Day Sale! You should join us to experience the fun of a British Boxing Day.
That’s it for now. I hope to see you at my next blog where we will discover the history and traditions of the second day of Christmas and “Celebrate Always.” (I Thessalonians 5:16)
Merry Christmas,
S’more
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