St. Stephen's Day
St. Stephen's Day or
Feast of St. Stephen is a
Christian saint's day celebrated on
26 December in the
Western Church and
27 December in the
Eastern Church. Churches which adhere to the
Julian calendar mark St. Stephen's Day in
January, although from their perspective they are celebrating it in
December. It commemorates
St. Stephen, the first Christian
martyr or
protomartyr.
The day is a
public holiday in
Austria,
Germany,
Ireland,
Italy,
Denmark,
Finland,
Catalonia,
Croatia,
Republika Srpska, and
Romania. St. Stephen's Day is also the "feast of Stephen" referred to in the
Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas. In
Britain,
Australia,
New Zealand and
Canada, St. Stephen's Day is more usually known as
Boxing Day.
Ireland
In
Irish it is called
Lá Fhéile Stiofán or
Lá an DreoilÃn â€" the latter translates literally as another
English name used, the
Day of the Wren or
Wren's Day. When used in this context, 'wren' is oftened pronounced 'ran'. This name alludes to several legends, including those found in
Ireland linking episodes in the life of
Jesus to the
wren. In parts of Ireland persons carrying either an effigy of a
wren, or an actual caged wren, travel from house to house playing music, singing and dancing. Depending on which region of the country, they are called
Wrenboys,
Mummers or
Strawboys. A Mummer's Festival is held at this time every year in the village of
New Inn,
Co. Galway. St Stephen's Day is also a popular day for visiting family members. A popular
rhyme, known to many Irish children and sung at each house visited by the mummers goes as follows:
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,Up with the penny and down with the pan,Give us a penny to bury the wren.Catalonia
CataloniaIn
Catalonia it is called "
Sant Esteve" and is a
bank holiday, but not in the whole country of
Spain.
Republika Srpska
St. Stephen is the
patron saint of the
Republika Srpska entity of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and St. Stephen's Day is celebrated as the
Day of the Republika Srpska. It falls on
January 9 by the
Gregorian calendar (the standard international calendar), as the
Serb Orthodox Church adheres to the
Julian calendar.
* St. Stephen's Day in
Hungary is observed on
August 20, the day on which the sacred relics of
Stephen I of Hungary were transferred to the city of
Buda. This day is a
public holiday in Hungary.
*
St. Stephen's Day at
IrishFestivals.net
