HISTORY OF EPIPHANY January 6 is known in the Christian calendar as Epiphany. It signifies the event of the Magi, or Wise Men visiting the baby Jesus, and is known in certain Latin cultures as Three Kings Day. In the Eastern (Orthodox and Oriental) churches it is known as the Feast of Theophany (God Manifest), [...]
Christmas
HISTORY OF CHILDERMAS Childermas, from an Old English word meaning the Mass of the Infants, is the festival in the church calendar commemorating the date when King Herod ordered the massacre of the children under two years of age in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, who “was born King of the Jews” according [...]
HISTORY OF THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN December 27, since the 5th century, has marked the day in the church calendar for celebrating the life of St. John the Evangelist and is known as the Feast of St. John. We’ve already mentioned that the day before, December 26 is the Feast of St. Stephen. The [...]
HISTORY OF BOXING DAY Boxing Day is a holiday unfamiliar to many Americans, but it it well known among the countries of the British Commonwealth. It is celebrated on December 26 as a public holiday in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and parts of Australia… as well as some parts of Europe and Africa. While [...]
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS EVE: POLISH CHRISTMAS WAFER My friend Phil gave me Opłatek, or Christmas wafer as part of his Polish Christmas tradition. This practice is common across many countries in Eastern Europe, in Poland it is a legacy from the past to celebrate the vigil of Christmas Eve. An empty place is set at [...]
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS: CAESAR AUGUSTUS Perhaps it is fitting that our last article on the History of Christmas should be about the first person mentioned in St. Luke’s story of the first Christmas. He was neither Palestinian, nor Jew, nor shepherd, nor wise man. He was in fact, 1500 miles away, the Roman emperor, Caesar [...]
HISTORY OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL On this date, December 19, 1843 saw the publication of Charles Dickens’ novella “A Christmas Carol.” No other book or story by Dickens or anyone else (except the Bible) has been more enjoyed, criticized, referred to, or more frequently adapted to other forms of media. One of my favorites was [...]
