St Stephen's Day

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St Stephen’s Day (also known as the Feast of St Stephen) is universally celebrated in Christianity on 26th December in the West, 27th December in the East and, in those Churches which follow the Julian calendar, in January.

In the West it is often overshadowed by Boxing Day, which is usually the day after Christmas Day and which is a public and/or Bank holiday in many places in its own right.

St Stephen is commonly accepted as the first Christian martyr and his day is celebrated as a public holiday in Austria, Catalonia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and the Republika Srpska (Serbia).

Probably the most famous reference to St Stephen is in the Christmas Carol Good King Wenceslas.

The only known first hand source of information on the life and death of St Stephen is in the Bible, in the Acts of The Apostles. St Stephen was stoned to death for his beliefs.