RE: all the Steve threads...

as a non-practitioner who was raised Catholic, I just realized tomorrow is the the feast day for St. Stephen...

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14286b.htm

It's also Boxing Day if anyone wants to put their gloves on...

Discuss...

How 'bout that, eh?

:tinfoilhat:

But I jest...:)

unless you're returning them.

"Boxing Day" is.

What, exactly, is it?

Do they really celebrate it in Canada?

http://www.ehow.com/how_11775_celebrate-boxing-day.html

Also, see

http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00e004005

Nice picture!

to Victorian England and "poor boxes" but, after that, descriptions seemed to diverge wildly, and its current celebration/observance had always baffled me.

On Boxing day employers and employees switch places...IOW the bosses do all the menial work while the worker sort of takes the day off and bosses his supervisor around.

It evolved from the Old English tradition of land owners giving gifts to their subjects the day after Christmas.

says one of his first memories of Christmas is that all the people in the church would sing about him. He didn't get all the words, but it goes:

da da da da, da da da, on the feast of Stephen

:D

"Good King Whenc..ah..a mis"

Um..I'mean

"Good King What's-his-name"?

It goes: Good King (what's his name) came to me, on the feast of Stephan..."

Maybe someone could google the lyrics, but I can't, for the life of me, spell the title...

:)

I've been racking my brain trying to come up with the proper pronunciation.

:-)

Dec. 26 for those of you not in the know...

Good King Wenceslas 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
Gath'ring winter fuel

"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather

"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

I actually knew the first two lines, but not the rest of it... but Steve would always just hum until it got to his name, then shout it out. So actually, I should have typed:

da da da da da da da, da da da da STEPHEN

But I figured NOBODY could figure out what I meant if I did that!

(On edit: it helps to envision a three or four year old kid doing this, rather than the full grown adult my honey is right now...)

:D