Donate some of those gifts to the needy on the Feast of St. Stephen, also known as ‘Boxing Day.’ Photo in public domainWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26: Sing along to “Good King Wenceslas,” grab some mince meat pie and remember the first Christian martyr on the second day of Christmas—also known as the Feast of St. Stephen. In several countries around the world, today is “Boxing Day,” relating to St. Stephen’s duties as an early deacon of the ancient Church. As deacon, this early saint cared for the poor; Christians have been donating money, food and gifts to servants, service workers and the needy ever since.

In some homes, a tradition passed down from the British encourages families to donate one Christmas gift to a “St. Stephen’s Box,” which is taken to a homeless shelter or sent abroad to a mission country. (Wikipedia has details.) At the end of the day, families can gather to hear the story of Good King Wenceslas, who “looked out on the Feast of Stephen” and shared his meal of minced meat pie with a needy family.

King Wenceslaus may have helped to popularize the Day of Stephen, but Stephen already was renowned throughout the Church as the first martyr . St. Stephen was stoned to death by his enemies—which, at the time, included the future St. Paul—yet he prayed throughout the stoning, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (That’s the traditional Christian version of the story; read more at American Catholic and Catholic Culture.) The Church teaches that this feast recalls the highest class of martyrdom—that offered by both deed and will—and is followed by St. John the Evangelist of the second class on the 27th and the Holy Innocents of the third on the 28th. Drawing on the description of St. Stephen in Acts, many Christian leaders teach that the faithful should pray for their enemies on his feast.

St. Stephen’s festivities abound in many predominantly Christian countries, and the feast is a public holiday in countries including Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Denmark and Poland. Western Christians observe the Feast of St. Stephen today; Eastern Christians observe it tomorrow.

FROM KING WENCESLAS … TO SOCCER

Before that feast of mincemeat, those not attending St. Stephen festivities can shop until they drop—in Australia, that is, where Boxing Day draws crowds of post-Christmas shoppers. In Britain, soccer matches have been popular since 1860. Learn more from the New York Times, which describes the St. Stephen’s tradition dating back to the first interclub match between the world’s oldest and second-oldest clubs.

Nativity scenes are on display in millions of homes. Photo by Jeff Weese, courtesy Wikipedia.TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25: Ring the bells and sing for joy—it’s Christmas! The Old English Christ’s Mass elevates the birth of Jesus Christ for 2 billion Christians, hailing from snow-covered mountains to sandy beaches, crowded cities to rural fields—and everywhere in between.

Central to the liturgical year, Christmas closes Advent and begins the Twelve Days of Christmastide. Though the exact year of Jesus’ birth can’t be placed, Christian families re-read two Gospels that describe a lowly manger, visiting shepherds, magi and, of course, that mysterious guiding star (now believed to have been a rare alignment of planets: the Huffington Post recently published a story). While previously a time of year when winter Solstice was celebrated in the Roman empire (see our earlier story on that)—Christians transformed this darkest period of the year and say Jesus’ coming fulfills ancient prophesy that a “Sun of righteousness” would come, and that his (red) blood and (green) eternal life provide hope to the whole world. (Wikipedia has details; or check out History.com.) Even St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican boasts an impressive mosaic of Christo Sole, Christ the Sun, in its pre-4th-century necropolis.

Earliest evidence of a Christmas celebration centered around Jesus dates to 354 CE, when events took place in Rome (note that the birth of Christ was already being observed at this time by Eastern Christians, on Epiphany). The first Christmas hymns emerged in 4^th century Rome, but the Epiphany holiday continued to dominate Christmas through the Middle Ages. During the medieval period, Christmas grew in popularity over Epiphany. During this time, the 40 days prior to Christmas became known as the “forty days of St. Martin”—a tradition that evolved into Advent.

CHRISTMAS: PREPARE FOR THE CROWDS ON CHRISTMAS EVE

Even primarily non-Christian countries, such as Japan, have now adopted Christmas as a secular holiday for gift-giving, caroling, feasting and evergreens. In the United States, where Christians comprise the majority religious group, Christmas Eve is now ranked by most churches as the single biggest attendance of the year. And, ReadTheSpirit online magazine has been very helpful in publishing three stories about preparing your church for the holidays. The series even includes quick tips on updating your website for the holidays!

GLOBAL CHRISTMAS: FROM SANTA-CON TO BROTHERS GRIMM

What does Christmas look like where you live? CNN cast an international invitation for photos and descriptions of holiday cheer—and more than 400 submissions described traditions from the mountaintops of Germany to the sandy beaches of Pacific islands. The highlights:

• Cincinnati, Ohio, hosts “Santa-Con,” an annual call for Santa Clauses to dress up and walk the streets, handing out candy.

• The Philippines hosts what is believed to be the longest Christmas season—with decorations adorning streets and homes from September through the end of January. In rural areas of the Philippines, bamboo and paper lanterns light the way for churchgoers.

• The German Christmas market in Hanau, the birthplace of the Brothers Grimm, bustles beneath enormous statues of the Grimm brothers.

Many of Europe’s world-famous Christmas markets offer much more than statues: Each delivers a unique peek at traditionally handmade items and local foods. As reported by CNN, Berlin offers ice rinks, ferris wheels and toboggan runs at its more than 60 markets; in Nuremberg, spiced gingerbread and locally produced wooden toys lure visitors; and in Austria’s capital, chilly shoppers can warm up with roasted chestnuts and hot drinks served in sturdy, collectible mugs.

CHRISTMAS D.I.Y. 
DECORATIONS, RECIPES AND PARTY TIPS

Whether your halls are decked to the hilt or boasting a sparse sprig of holly, have no fear—there’s still time to bring cheer to your home! We’ve searched the web and spotted these online gems that are worth a click and a look …

Martha Stewart offers a selection of handmade gift ideas, ornament inspirations and more. Those looking for a European twist on their holidays can access recipes, gift guides and craft ideas at The Guardian. Don’t leave out the kids—their crafts and printables are at Kaboose. After the stockings and wreaths are hung, it’s time to focus on the Christmas meal—an all-important aspect to Christmas in many cultures. In areas of Italy, 12 kinds of fish are served on Christmas Eve (get Italian Christmas recipes here), while in England, fare often includes goose, gravy, potatoes, bread and cider. Whether Midnight Mass interrupts your menu or not, don’t forget dessert—American cookies, traditional pudding, fruit cakes and mince pies. (Taste of Home and AllRecipes offer everything from appetizer to dessert recipes.)

Cooking for guests with special requests? Find a gluten-free menu and a vegetarian menu from Huffington Post. In Malta, a chocolate and chestnut beverage is served after the 12 a.m. Christmas services. Chocolate lovers can find more festive food ideas at Hersheys.com.

NEWS: EUROPE REMOVES ‘CHRIST’ FROM CARDS;
ATHEISTS AND RELIGIONISTS BREAK BREAD

A Christmas card circa 1911 depicts churchgoers.According to a recent study commissioned by The Bible Society and reported on by The Telegraph, a team of mystery shoppers from Nielsen auditors scoured European card shops, convenience stores and high-end retailers, in search of one thing: Christ in Christmas cards. The results were startling: of nearly 6,000 cards sampled, only 34 featured Nativity scenes. Extending the umbrella, researchers began taking other religious images into account—such as church pews and choirs—and including both individual and boxed sets of cards. In the end, just 2 percent of cards were found to have religious content. Conversely, a select few retailers reported an increase in demand for religious cards.

Meanwhile, in Washington, CNN reported a growing rift among American atheists in regards to the Christmas season. A New York billboard—sponsored by the American Atheists and costing $25,000 during its run through January—boldly asks passersby to dispel Christ from the winter holiday. Other Atheist groups utilize the cheer of the season to work with religious groups and learn their similarities and differences. A recent event was held in Boston—jointly sponsored by the Humanist Community at Harvard, atheists and several diverse religious groups—packaged meals for poor children in the city.

HOLIDAY PARTY ICEBREAKERS

Now, for some extra fun: Aare you looking to strike up a conversation with a stranger—or that family member you only see once a year? Try tossing out a few of these interesting tidbits during your next gathering:

• Sancte Claus was retroactively named the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam (the Dutch name for New York City) in 1809

• President Ulysses S. Grant declared Christmas a federal holiday in the United States in 1870. Five years later, the first American Christmas card was produced

• Charles Dickens sought to recreate Christmas as a family-centered holiday of generosity and secularity. Unlike modern-day Europe and U.S., workers in Dickens’ day did not get “days off” in their work schedules. In addition to campaigning for a full-day December 25 holiday in A Christmas Carol, Dickens was one of the leading British activists for Sunday-holiday laws in the UK that would give workers a weekly sabbath off work. So, there was a major political campaign behind Dickens’ fanciful tales.

• Martin Luther arguably began the modern Christmas tree tradition; others hold that it began in 18th century Germany

LOOKING AHEAD:
THE JULIAN EVENT AND 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Gregorian and Julian calendars differ by 13 days this year, causing Christmas and Epiphany to fall on January 7 and 19, respectively, by those Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian Calendar. Christmas doesn’t end on Christmas Day for anyone, though—at least not according to the Church! On the contrary, Christmas Day begins the Twelve Days of Christmas, which continue through January 6. Most Christian denominations preach this worldwide tradition, even though many parishioners are quick to take down decorations and move into the new year. One place to read more on this is Catholic Culture. In some places, it is tradition to give gifts during each of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST CHRIST THE KING UNDER CONSTRUCTION: This photo shows the construction progress in 2010. It was completed in 2011. Read today’s story for more about this world-class monument.SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25: Clergy don white and gold and congregations rejoice for today’s Feast of Christ the King. Though not a major holiday for the majority of American Christians, the Feast of Christ the King embodies a unique and ancient religious message: The title reminds Christians that, above all, Christ is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” This is the last Sunday before the Western Christian calendar starts all over again with Advent, the season that prepares more than a billion Christians around the world for Christmas. (The world’s half-a-billion Eastern Christians began their annual Fast of the Nativity in perparation for Christmas on November 15.)

The official Feast of Christ the King is less than a century old in the Roman Catholic Church (Wikipedia has more about the history). But, make no mistake—the tradition touches on an ancient and crucial element in the rise of Christianity as a worldwide religion. The triumphant Jesus is described with titles including the word “king” in Matthew, Mark, John, 1 Timothy and Revelation.

Bible scholar John Dominic Crossan says that was no coincidence. Early Christians were lifting up their faith in Jesus as a contrast to the violent oppression of the Roman Empire. “What Jesus and his early followers were doing was a direct challenge to Roman theology,” Crossan said in a 2011 interview with ReadTheSpirit. “Caesar, the divine conqueror, was saying that peace only comes through victory, through war. Jesus was saying that peace comes through a much different process.”

This complex history—Christ triumphant, ancient memories of Christ in opposition to empire, 20th-Century Catholic associations with rejecting secularization in Europe—continues to fuel world-class Christ the King projects to this day.

BUILDING THE WORLD’S BIGGEST
CHRIST THE KING IN POLAND

The small town of Świebodzin in western Poland decided to express the town’s Catholic heritage—and made a bid to become a major pilgrimage site—by constructing what is believed to be the world’s largest statue of Christ the King. Wikipedia has more about the town of Świebodzin—as well as more about the construction of the statue. But the project echoes historic efforts dating all the way back to the Middle Ages to revitalize trade routes and market towns by welcoming Christian pilgrims.

Mary’s Nativity is associated with fall harvest in many regions of Europe. Photo in public domainSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8: Quick quiz: Which event in the Bible do millions of Christians regard as bridging the Old Testament and the New Testament?

Answer: The Nativity of Mary!

In all fairness, there may not be one answer for the above quick quiz, but today, but more than a billion Christians mark the Nativity of Mary / the Theotokos. The Eastern and Western churches differ in their core beliefs about Mary’s birth—the Eastern holds that she was released from actual sin, while the Western Catholic church preaches that she was conceived immaculately and preserved from Original Sin—but both agree that Mary played a mysterious transformative role in the world as the mother of Jesus (Get an Eastern POV from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Or, at Antiochian.)

So, happy birthday Mary! In Orthodox churches, she is known as the Theotokos or God-bearer. Don’t flip open your Bible, looking for all of these details. Mary’s birth isn’t recorded in the kind of detail now taught in Eastern and Western churches. (Wikipedia has more about this.) Tradition holds that Joachim and Anna had hoped for a child for many years. At that time, it was believed that a lack of children indicated divine displeasure. When Joachim’s temple offering was refused one day, he had hit the limit: He and Anna moved from Jerusalem and isolated themselves in the countryside and continued praying to God. Finally, an angel appeared to husband and wife while they were both praying. The angel told them that Anna would have a child whose name would be known around the world. (Wikipedia has more.) Though previously infertile, Anna became pregnant even at her advanced age and, in nine months, bore a daughter.

On this day of joy for observant Christians, Mary joins ranks with two other biblical figures in such formal, long-standing birthday celebrations: Jesus and John the Baptist. Some say her feast originated in Jerusalem, while others insist it began in Syria or Palestine. (Read more from Catholic Culture or Fisheaters.) Either way, the entire Roman Church had accepted the celebration by the end of the 7th century; all Christian nations came to observe Mary’s Nativity by the 12th century.

MARY’S NATIVITY AS THE START OF AUTUMN IN FARMING REGIONS

Photo in public domainIn many parts of central and Eastern Europe, Mary’s Nativity is an unofficial first day of fall. Churches have long used Sept. 8 as a day to bless the harvest, and in the wine regions of France, this day is a grape harvest festival (in some places, farmers tie grapes to the hands of Virgin Mary statues). In the Alps, elaborate “down-driving” takes place: cattle and sheep leave their summer mountain slopes and retreat to the winter valleys, parading in caravans with flowers, ribbons, evergreen wreaths and bells.

Even if you don’t live in the Alps, you can chant this English rendition of a traditional Austrian rhyme today:

“It’s Blessed Virgin’s Birthday
The swallows do depart;
Far to the South they fly away,
And sadness fills my heart.
But after snow and ice and rain
They will in March return again.”

Meseret Defar waves to the crowd at the 2012 Olympics. She carried her cloth icon between her shirt and her Olympic nametag.WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15: The Virgin Mary certainly is alive and well in popular culture—hailed by an Olympic athlete and spotted on a tree by thousands of believers.

There are many traditional observances of Mary throughout the Christian year and, today, Christians mark her dormition, or “falling asleep,” a phrase particulary used in Eastern Christianity to describe the end of one’s life. Following a strict two-week Orthodox Dormition Fast, both Eastern and Western Christians mark Mary’s departure from earth today. Eastern and Western traditions differ: Orthodox Christians hold that Mary died a natural death, had her soul received by Christ and then—and only then— was bodily resurrected on the third day. (Read more from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.) Catholics believe Mary was assumed almost immediately after death (similar to Jesus). Some Catholics even believe that Mary didn’t experience death at all. (Get the Catholic POV at American Catholic.)

Christian tradition holds that Mary died with the apostles around her, and was later buried in Gethsemane (per her request). Days after her death, her grave was found empty and a sweet scent was left behind. In honor of her reposed body’s fragrance, aromatic herbs are blessed on the Feast of the Dormition. Orthodox theology grants that the Theotokos (god-bearer) has already experienced the bodily resurrection that will come to all at the Second coming.

The Feast of the Assumption is a public holiday in several countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Poland and Chile. (Wikipedia has details.) In a service that originated in Jerusalem, the Orthodox All-Night Vigil includes the Rite of the “Burial of the Theotokos” and continues in many Russian Dormition Cathedrals.

Meseret Defar and the Icon of Mary Seen ‘Round the World

The Catholic News Agency headlined the story: “Virgin Mary Crosses the Finish Line with Olympic Gold Runner.” Many other faith-related news outlets immediately carried the story as well. Ethiopian Olympian Meseret Defar is one of the world’s top runners in 3,000- and 5,000-meter distances. (Wikipedia has a profile of her.) When she won the Gold, this time, she pulled a cloth image of Christ and Mary from her jersey upon crossing the finish line. (The Examiner has the icon story, too.) A devout Orthodox Christian, Defar told reporters that she had entrusted her efforts in that race to God, praying that she would do her best.

IMAGE OF MARY IN A NEW JERSEY TREE?

Meanwhile, thousands of curious men and women are flocking to a new type of shrine: a tree in New Jersey. Following a recent car crash, the tree was imprinted with a “scar” that many say perfectly mirrors images of the Virgin Mary. (The LA Times has an article. And USA Today also covered it.) Since the fatal car crash, both locals and travelers have been visiting the tree with cameras and gifts of flowers, candles and religious icons.

Russian Orthodox icon of the Transfiguration from about the year 1500. This masterpiece survived 500 years of turbulence in Russia within a monastery in Yaroslavl (in northwest Russia). Today, the oldest sections of Yaroslavl are collectively considered a World Heritage Site. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.MONDAY, AUGUST 6: Matthew, Mark and Luke all describe this miraculous journey with Jesus to a mountaintop accompanied by his followers Peter, James and John. In a startling revelation of his divine nature, the group hears God’s voice identifying Jesus as “Son;” there is a blinding display of holy light; both Moses and Elijah appear to visit for a while with Jesus. This is the famous scene in which Peter asks Jesus if they should build some shelters and remain on the mountain top. Instead, Jesus reassures his followers, the scene ends and they go back down again. Thousands of sermons have been preached on this text, both emphasizing the great miracle and the revelation of Jesus’s divine nature—and also stressing that Jesus wants his followers active in the world, rather than locked away on remote mountain peaks.

Although some Protestant denominations place this feast in a different part of the year, the Transfiguration feast has been associated with August 6 for more than 1,000 years around the Christian world. Some Orthodox branches that still use ancient calendars to calculate feasts may celebrate the Transfiguration later, but the majority of Orthodox congregations will be celebrating this week. The Transfiguration is considered one of the 12 great feasts in the Orthodox calendar and has been a universal feast in the Roman Catholic church for more than 500 years.

FANS OF THE BORGIAS on SHOWTIME, TAKE NOTE …

Now that Showtime has confirmed there will be a third season of this potboiler (one critic describes it as “Sopranos meets Game of Thrones”), the following religious trivia may be intriguing to share with friends: In Western Christianity among Catholics, the Feast of the Transfiguration remains a fairly well-known religious event, each year, because of a Borgia pope. Better known as Pope Callixtus III, Alphonso Borgia was frail and elderly by the time he became pontiff. Nevertheless, he shaped history in a lot of ways. Not only did he elevate the Transfiguration to a universal feast for the church—but he also advanced the religious careers of two other infamous Borgias.

The first was his relatively obscure nephew Luis Julian de Milà, who Callixtus elevated to the college of cardinals. But the other nephew who he appointed as a cardinal was the world-famous Rodrigo de Borgia who later became Pope Alexander VI. We might say: And the rest is history … but Showtime seems intent on liberally rewriting that history as the epic saga unfolds.

Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.