St. Stephen's Day

St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which places it on 9 January of the Julian calendar used in secular contexts. It commemorates St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr. It is an official public holiday in Austria, Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Poland. The date is also a Public Holiday in those countries that celebrate Boxing Day on the day instead/as well.

Read more about St. Stephen's Day:  Ireland, Wales, Catalonia, Serbia, Republika Srpska

Famous quotes containing the words stephen and/or day:

    I forsak the, Kyng Herowdes, and thi werkes alle;
    Ther is a chyld in Bedlem born is beter than we alle.’
    —Unknown. St. Stephen and King Herod (l. 6–8)

    Boundless in your charity, but shrewd and cautious as a lender, you delight all those today whom you made beggars the day before.
    Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)