St. Stephen
The day after Christmas, on purpose.
Stephen was one of the first seven deacons, chosen to make sure the widows in the early Church were actually being fed. He was good at it, and he was a fierce speaker, and the second got him killed. He was the first Christian to die for it.
The last thing he does, while it is happening, is ask God not to hold it against the people doing it. Standing in the crowd, holding the coats, is a young man named Saul, who will later be knocked off a horse and become St. Paul.
His feast is the day after Christmas, and that placement is deliberate. The Church puts the manger and the cost of the manger back to back, one day apart. Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen. That is this day.
St. Stephen facts for kids
- The first Christian martyr, called the protomartyr
- One of the seven original deacons, whose job was feeding widows
- St. Paul was there, holding the coats, before his conversion
- December 26 is Boxing Day in the UK and St. Stephen's Day in Ireland
Feast day: December 26 · Patron of deacons and stonemasons
St. Stephen, help me forgive quickly, the way you did.