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| Saint Stephen's Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also called | Feast of Saint Stephen |
| Observed by | Christians |
| Type | Christian |
| Date |
|
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Boxing Day (concurrent), Christmastide, Wren Day |
Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox churches that adhere to the Julian calendar mark Saint Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which places it on 9 January of the Gregorian calendar used in civil contexts. In Western Christian denominations, Saint Stephen's Day marks the second day of Christmastide.[1][2]
It is an official public holiday in Alsace-Moselle, Austria, the Balearic Islands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Madeira, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, Switzerland and Newfoundland. The date is also a public holiday in those countries that celebrate Boxing Day on the day in addition to or instead of Saint Stephen's Day, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
In the Isle of Man and in parts of Ireland, it is also known as Wren Day. It was traditional to hunt a wren, which would be paraded around the neighbourhood on top of a staff decorated with holly, ivy and ribbons.
- ^ Ross, Corinne (1 January 1977). Lopez, Jadwiga (ed.). Christmas in Scandinavia. World Book Encyclopedia. p. 59. ISBN 9780716620037.
The remainder of Christmas Day is spent snacking, playing with toys, reading new books, or napping. December 26 is a legal holiday, and is called "Second Day Christmas." It is also Saint Stephen's Day—the feast day of a Christian missionary, once a stable boy, who came to Sweden around A.D. 1050.
- ^ Crump, William D. (15 September 2001). The Christmas Encyclopedia (3 ed.). McFarland. p. 25. ISBN 9780786468270.
On Saint Stephen's Day (December 26, "Second Christmas Day"), families make traditional visits to friends and relatives.