Today is just another workday for most or perhaps a banking holiday since Christmas fell on a Sunday; but for many around the world December 26th commemorates special holidays.  Since the 5th century Austria and other Christian countries observe St. Stephen’s Day or “Stephanitag”, as is called in German-speaking nations, to honor St. Stephen.  In Great Britain, Ireland, and South Africa it is Boxing Day, African Americans start of a week-long celebration of Kwanzaa, and the eastern Caribbean islands kick off Carnival with J’ouvert.

“The Stoning of St. Stephen” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1625 (Image: courtesy of Wikipaintings)

St. Stephen (ca. 1AD – 34AD) is considered the first Christian martyr.  He was tried by the Great Sanhedrin, the supreme court of ancient Israel, for blasphemy against Moses and God and for speaking against the Temple and the Law.  He was stoned to death by an angry mob encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as Saint Paul.  St. Stephen’s Day, also called the “feast of Stephen” is a public holiday in historically Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran countries.  It is celebrated on December 26th in the Western Church and on December 27th in the Eastern Church, the latter based o the Julian calendar.  St. Stephen’s Day is also often called “Second Christmas”.

Fox hunt on Boxing Day (Photo: Alan Young)

In the United Kingdom Boxing Day has traditionally been the day following Christmas when the wealthy would present a boxed gift to their servants.  Landowners needed their servants to work on Christmas, and so they allowed them to take off the day after to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses, and  often leftover food. It is observed in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth nations.  South Africans renamed it Day of Goodwill in 1994.  It also a big sporting day!  In England, Scotland and Ireland the Football and Rugby leagues hold special games.  In Australia and South Africa popular test matches for Cricket are played. The famous King George VI Chase is held at Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey, England.  It is also still a prominent day in the U.K. and U.S. for fox hunting, despite having been banned in 2004.  In Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, as well as in Guyana and Italy prize fighting contests are held today.  Also, the Spengler Cup, the annual ice hockey tournament in Davos, Switzerland starts on December 26th.

Kwanzaa dinner table by Camille Styles (Photo: courtesy of HGTV)

Maulana Karenge (born Ronald McKinley Everett), an African American professor, scholar, activist and author created Kwanzaa in 1966 honoring African American heritage and culture.  The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” (first fruit of the harvest). From December 26th to January 1st it celebrates seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.  Families decorate their homes with colorful African textiles and fresh fruits, light the seven candles of Kwanzaa and share ceremonies that include music and drumming and artistic performances.

J’ouvert at the St. Kitt’s Carnival (Photo: courtesy of Go Caribbean)

J’ouvert is a large street party to kick off Carnival in the Eastern Caribbean, and it involves calypso and soca bands with their followers dancing through the streets.  It is celebrated on many islands, including Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. Carnival was first introduced to Trinidad by French settlers in 1783 during the time of slavery.  Banned from the masquerade balls of the French, the slaves would stage their own  small carnivals in their backyards. They used their African rituals and folklore, as well as imitated and mocked their masters’ conduct at the masquerade balls.  The origin of J’ouvert coincides with the emancipation from slavery in 1838, and it became an expression of newfound freedom.  Traditions vary widely from island to island and have had many influences from the Colonial powers to Africans, Indians and other ethnic groups who have all left their mark on J’ouvert.  In the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos December 26th is the day is Junkanoo, a similar street parade, that also occurs on New Year’s Day.

Hanukkah table by the Jewish Hostess (Photo: courtesy of the Jewish Hostess)

Today also marks the 7th day of Hanukkah (Chanukah) this year.  The Jewish festival of lights that began two centuries before the inception of Christianity starts the 25th day of Kislev and is celebrated for eight days.  The seventh candle on the Menorah is lit today, and gifts are exchanged, from traditional ones like candles, menorahs, and Jewish delicacies to more modern ones like puzzles, games, stationary and music, and most importantly a dreidel.

Among the other holidays today are Family Day in Vanuatu, Thanksgiving on the Solomon Islands, Wren Day in Ireland and the Isle of Man and Mummer’s Day in Cornwall.  December 26th is a day of many celebrations, and so I wish you all a blessed St. Stephen’s Day, a merry Boxing Day, happy Kwanzaa, a joyous J’ouvert, a blissful Hanukkah, a good Family Day, a jubilant Solomonian Thanksgiving, a fruitful Wren Day and a cheerful Mummer’s Day!

Cheers,