Happy Feast of Stephen! Happy Boxing Day! Harambe Kwanzaa!

You might think with Christmas past, the partying was over. But people in winter always look for reasons to get together, get warm and get stuffed.

December 26 is the Feast of St. Stephen the (Proto)Martyr. There are so many Stephens, Stevens and Steves in my life that I have to honor their patron and wish them all a happy day. The actual date of Stephen's martyrdom, of course, is unknown, as is the date of the birth of Jesus. The liturgical connection is usually explained as saying that Stephen, being the first (proto) martyr, was the first disciple to be born into heaven by his holy death, and so his heavenly birth is celebrated immediately after the earthly birth of Jesus.

December 26 is boxing day in Britain, Canada, Australia and other nations of the Commonwealth. The old custom was that people would give gifts (Christmas boxes) to servants and tradespeople on this day. It is a bank holiday (meaning obvious) in many of the countries that celebrate it. In South Africa it is called Day of Goodwill. Other countries, mostly Germanic or Scandinavian, celebrate today as Second Christmas Day.

 In Ireland it is also called the Day of the Wren, a tradition that may derive from pre-Christian mythology, as do other Christmas-season things like the yule log, mistletoe and the use of holly. On Wren Day people dressing up in masks, straw suits and colourful motley clothing and, accompanied by traditional music bands, parade through the towns and villages. These crowds are sometimes called wrenboys.

Then there is Kwanzaa, an eight-day celebration founded/created in 1966, which has blossomed into the only internationally celebrated, native, non-religious, non-heroic, non-political African-American holiday. Its concept is neither religious nor political but is rooted strongly in a cultural awareness. This is not a substitute for Christmas, though gifts may be exchanged. Kwanzaa celebrations incorporate a number of symbols chosen for their African significance, but most have universal meaning.