The Second Day of Christmas

Good King Wenceslaus looked out on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.


Trivia Question: When is the Feast of Stephen? Since I’m asking this question today, December 26th, you can take that as a big hint. Stephen was the first martyr of the early church, stoned to death, while Saul (who would later become Paul) held the cloaks of those participating. He was also one of the Seven mentioned in the book of Acts. Because one of the roles of those early deacons was to care for the poor, St. Stephen’s Day is often the day for giving food, money and other items to servants, service workers, and the needy (it is known as Boxing Day in England).

Today is also the 2nd day of Christmas. Two turtles doves and all that. If you believe that the song originally was written for Christian instruction (which is a charming thought for me), the two turtle doves symbolize the Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

Another interesting thing….today is Hanukkah. Since the Jewish holidays start the night before at sunset, technically it started last night. While the institution of Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Bible, Jesus was in the temple during the celebration. John 10:22 talks about the Feast of Dedication, and Jesus’ presence there. The Feast of Dedication is the 8 day festival of lights that celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucids (better known to us as Hanukkah). This whole festival is an interesting topic for another day, but suffice it to say, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, He brought a much greater light to the hungry souls waiting for deliverance.