December 26th is a Holiday?

Happy St. Stephen's Day, everyone! I have reached the age of 42 without knowing anything about this holiday. Here's some interesting info about St. Stephen's Day:

• It celebrates St. Stephen, the first christian martyr.


• St. Stephen's Day in Wales is known as Gŵyl San Steffan. Ancient Welsh custom, discontinued in the 19th century, included bleeding of livestock and "holming" (beating or slashing with holly branches) of late risers and female servants. Ah, the good old days of beating female servants...


• On this day, everyone must listen to a nice version of Saint Stephen by The Grateful Dead. For novices, I suggest the version on Live/Dead. For pros, I suggest just about anything from the early 70s, but a spring 77 show is always nice (5-8-77).

It's also Boxing Day, a holiday that dates back to the medieval times. There are several different stories as to how it started, none of which include throwing punches. This is the one I like the best:

In England many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.

So, happy Boxing Day, happy St. Stephen's Day, and of course happy Festivus. Rest assured that a donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund: "Money for People."