Friday, December 26, 2025

It is the 26th of December 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Yes, it’s the day after Christmas. Yes, it’s the “Second Day of Christmas” if that’s your thing… I think we’ve done the 12 Days of Christmas ad nauseam…

The Second Day of Christmas is, however, traditionally associated with the “second” great martyr of the Church- that is, Stephen from the 7th chapter of Acts. St. Stephen… that’s right- “the feast of Stephen” and you might already start to hum the ditty… “Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen”… well, we know what day he was doing it now- but- so many questions are raised by this very curious carol- not a hymn- let’s break it down.

Wenceslas was not a king. He was a duke. If you see “Wenceslas I, King of Bohemia”- that’s not him… that would be the king from the 1200s- this Wenceslas- the Duke we call a king and have a whole ditty about is from the 900s.

The backstory is that his grandparents, the Duke Borijov and Duchess Ludmilla, were the first to accept the Christian faith, and with the help of Cyril and Methodius, they established churches. But not everyone was keen on the new faith- in fact, Wenceslaus was being raised in the faith by his grandmother, Ludmilla as she was also acting as a regent for the young man. His mother, Ludmilla’s daughter Drahomira, plotted and killed Ludmilla, taking over as regent for her son.  

When Wenceslas, who did not abandon his faith, came of age, he had his mother banished for her role in his grandmother's death. The problems of his day not only included the new faith and members of his family who weren’t keen on him using it to strengthen ties, but also included the Magyars, nomadic invaders. Wenceslas attempted to curry favor with the Ottonian king Henry the Fowler. We don’t know exactly why, but all of this may have played into the assassination of Good King Wenceslas- at the hands of his brother Boleslav. The deceased duke- only in his 20s- was beloved and so stories immediately started developing about his piety- his charity, etc…

So, the guy who was not a King would be granted a kind of posthumous royalty- going from Duke Wenceslas to King and then, “saint”. His relics would be in St. Vitus’ in Prague, and he would become the patron saint for Bohemia, which makes up part of the Czech Republic- which we now call Czechia, because they asked us back in 2016.

SO- fast forward to the 1800s- you may remember John Mason Neale, an Anglo-Catholic priest in the Anglican church and influenced by the Oxford movement- he is obsessed with the old stories and songs, especially those not translated. And so, in his 1849 “Deeds of Faith”- a story book for children, he tells the famous story.

Before we get to the lyrics, the music itself was from a 13th-century Latin ode to springtime. There were many who criticized taking a spring tune and placing it on the 26th of December. There was (and is, perhaps) no shortage of people who complain about the lyrics- I’ve read the word “doggerel” more in the past few days than the past few years combined. But this fails to take into account that this was a story and song written for children, and while it praises the good Christian king and offers some good advice, it’s not properly a hymn- you might find it in a “lessons and carols” service, but not usually beyond that.

But dig the story and see if you might find the “Christmas connection”- Good King Wenceslas looks out, and it is cold- and they see a poor guy, and the king says to his page: “Hey, let’s get flesh and wine and a log,” we’ll make a right feast for the guy. But the page says- “it’s getting darker and colder” and so the King says “well- walk in my literal footsteps- I’ll melt the snow with my heat and then you’ll be warm. And the song ends saying “we should bless the less fortunate”. Strange? Yeah. A hymn? Nope- a song about a duke we call king who did god stuff. But it’s an appropriate Christmas parallel- wherein the king himself leaves the comfort of his abode to descend to those who are needy- straight from Philippians 2. Happy St Stephen's Day- and good luck if you’re doing the Boxing Day stuff…

 The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and the end of Acts 7 and into 8:

They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”  Then he fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.

Now Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 26th of December 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who doesn’t “take it over there” but rather “bears it thither”- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who sings the song in his head as the muppet… every time… I’m  Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.