Many of you may recognize the title to this post as a line from the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas. The song is based in part on the story of Saint Wenceslaus I who was known for giving to the poor and less fortunate during the 10th century. In the song, he goes out to help the poor ‘on the feast of Stephen’.
Some of our more traditional Catholic or Orthodox readers can tell you that today is in-fact the Feast of Stephen which is celebrated on the second of the twelve days of Christmas (by classic tradition the Christmas celebration begins on December 25th and continues through Epiphany on January 6th).
The day is also celebrated as Boxing Day in many British Commonwealth countries, where it was a tradition for masters to give gifts to the servants, today the tradition is continued by people giving to the poor in general. This giving is done both in terms of gits of money as well as in terms of gifts of time and energy.
Yesterday many of us celebrated with our families. For some the day went well, for some it may have involved some of the traditional family quarrels. Some of us got what we wanted while others felt like they didn’t quite get everything that they were hoping for.
But for most of us the problems, if any, dealt with fairly-basic (even petty) concerns. Most of us have a roof over our heads, we have heat to keep us warm, we have light to guide us through the dark, we have food to eat and water to drink. To many around our planet this is but a dream or fantasy.
In parts of the second and third world millions dwell in abject poverty. Even in our own countries (speaking to those of us who live in the first world) many of our neighbors are hurting as we work through these tough economic times. Fears of losing food and shelter are real to people who never thought it would happen to them.
In my Christmas Day posting I urged those of us who are basically secure to be encouraged that for all the problems we face that things will endure and we will move forward. Today I am humbly asking those same readers to take this second day of Christmas to give a little to those who are truly in need.
If you have money to donate, there are many good local charities, food banks, shelters and the like who can use your support. If you can only give your time or energy, there are plenty of places to volunteer. For all of us we can at least try to find some way to make this a special day and to continue the spirit of the season.