[78-L] The Christmas Songs

[Kristjan Saag]

Steven C. Barr wrote:

> "Good King Wenceslas" (lyrically, anyway) looked out "On the Feast Of
> Stephen!" Now, this being to some extent a personal issue for me...when
> IS/WAS "The feast of Stephen?" And, is it related in any way to Christmas?
---
Related, yes. The feast is celebrated to commemorate the first Christian 
martyr, St Stephen. The date of the feast was set to the first day after 
Christmas, that is December 26th (according to Western calendar, December 
27th Eastern).
At the same time it falls well within "The Twelve Days Of Christmas", and is 
thus related to Christmas, just as "Jingle Bells" and "Sleigh Ride" has 
become.

The legend of King Wenceslas is a different matter. This is a Czech saint 
(from medieval times) who is commemorated on September 28th (Czech Statehood 
Day). But he made miracles, as the legend tells, on December 26th. So John 
Mason Neale, who was writing Christmas Carols in the 1850's, saw an 
opportunity to use the legend for one. "Good King Wenceslas" was published 
in 1853; a few years before that he had included the legend in a children's 
book.

And, BTW:  According to Catholic tradition, St Stephen is patron of the 
horses. Could have been cats, but that's St. Gertrude of Nivelles
http://www.catholictradition.org/Saints/nivelles.htm
Kristjan